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THE LIFE OF
CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE

Pketo: Ktginnld H nines

M.A., M.P.

EDITED BY

W. B. SELBIE, M.A., D.D.

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

LIMITED LONDON

Print*} in Grot Britain by Ilatell, Watson A Viney, Id-
London and Aylesbury.

PREFACE

THIS book is overdue. Its appearance has been delayed
by the war and other causes, and would hardly have been
possible now but for Mrs. Home, who has spent infinite
pains in collecting and arranging her husband's volu-
minous papers and letters. My work has been largely
that of an editor, and has been greatly helped by her,
and by Home's two brothers, and other members of
his family, as well as by his close friend Dr. J. D. Jones.
I have thought it well, wherever possible, to let Home
speak for himself. Hence the numerous extracts
from his diary and letters. This method accounts for
the fact that the space allotted to his work at White-
fields seems somewhat less than the importance of the
work requires. The diary had come to an end by that
time, and the letters of that period naturally deal with
events away from home. The book might have been
longer and fuller, but it was thought well to keep it
within strict limits, that it might be issued at a price
within the reach of all. I hope, however, that it will
serve as a not inadequate memorial of a great soul and
a strenuous and most useful life.

W. B. SELBIE.

OXFOED,

August 1920.

22.10834

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

CHAPTER I

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE . . . 1

CHAPTER II

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON .... 30

CHAPTER III

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON ... 68

CHAPTER IV

RELIGION AND POLITICS . . . . .112

CHAPTER V

EXTRACTS FROM THE KENSINGTON DIARY . . 138

vii

PAGE

174

viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER VI

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT . . «

CHAPTER VII

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS (BY L. T.

HORNE, C.B.E.) ...... 222

CHAPTER VIII

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY (BY DR. J. D. JONES) . 246

CHAPTER IX

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS . . . 260

CHAPTER X

CLOSING YEARS 291

INDEX .... 307

CHAPTER I

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

IF " the proper study of mankind is man," then no
further excuse is needed for attempting to write a
biography. Even the most commonplace lives have an
interest of their own, and can contribute something of
warning or example to the sum total of human ex-
perience. But in the case of those who stand out from
the common crowd, and leave a deeper mark upon their
time, there is an added reason for placing on record
something of what they were and did. Piety as well
as curiosity has its claims, and it is well to show the
world that the good that men do can be made to live
after them. To his friends Silvester Home was one
of those radiant beings whom to know was to love,
and whose memory irresistibly invites to the task of
commemoration. Though he was cut off in his prime,
he had had his " crowded hour of glorious life," and
the record of his earnest service and passionate devo-
tion to great causes has still its work to do. As though
he had some foreboding that his days would not be
long in the land, he spent his powers almost recklessly,
meeting life like a great adventure, and losing himself
utterly in the tasks he found to his hand. He was
ever an impenitent Radical and an incurable idealist,
and it is certain that he would have those who come
after him forget the man in the work he tried to do, or
at least only remember him in order to enhance and
further the causes for which he stood. If there is any
section of the community to which the story here told
1

2 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

should make a special appeal, it is to the younger men
and women of the Free Churches all over the world.
Home stood always for a positive Free Churchmanship,
and for the Congregational Church order as its best
means of expression. Superior people will probably say
that this meant for him a narrow outlook and a re-
stricted range of influence. Nothing could be further
from the truth. A Congregational minister who is
worthy of his vocation, and takes it seriously, occupies
a position of the greatest possible freedom. He calls
no man Master or Lord, and he is able to declare with-
out fear or favour the truth as he has received and
knows it. Bound by no written creed, he can shape
his message to suit the changing need of the times,
and yet in humble submission to the Spirit of God,
who guides men into all the truth, can remain utterly
loyal to the great fundamentals of the Christian faith.
The power and liberty which this position gives are
well illustrated in the life before us. In the pulpit, on
the platform, and in the Press, Silvester Home gave a
Christian witness of consistent and cumulative force.
Being dead he still speaks ; and if the story of his life
can but enshrine his message in some more permanent
form, it will not have been written in vain.

It was in the quiet village of Cuckfield, in Sussex,
that Charles Silvester Home first saw the light, on
April 15, 1865. He was the youngest of four children
of Charles Home, minister of the Cuckfield Congrega-
tional Church, and his wife, Harriet Silvester. The
father had been trained at Springhill College, Birming-
ham, where he was a contemporary of Dr. Dale and
Dr. Paton. He graduated at London University, and
throughout his life retained his interest in things in-
tellectual, and especially in theology. He was an ardent
politician, intensely patriotic, and devoted heart and
soul to the cause of progress. Among his friends he
was much relied on for his sound judgment, both in

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 3

private and public matters ; but he was a man of few
words, modest and retiring to a fault, and content to
make himself felt rather than seen or heard. His wife,
a daughter of Leonard Simpson, of Birkenhead, was a
woman of strong character and keen and enthusiastic
temperament. She was Puritan in her strictness and
self-repression, and the atmosphere of the home owed
everything to her high ideals and devout spirit. The
children were made to feel that the two things which
mattered supremely were religion and education. Of
money there was little enough, but it was always
regarded as but a means to an end. Personal expendi-
ture came second to religious and charitable objects,
and there v/as no hesitation in spending capital in order
to give the children the best education possible.

When the youngest child was still an infant, the
family removed from Cuckfield to the little market town
of Newport, in Shropshire. Here Charles Home became
editor of the local newspaper, the Newport Advertiser,
which was owned by his wife's uncle, Charles Silvester.
He also became partner with Mr. Silvester in a printing
and bookselling business, to the control of which he
ultimately succeeded. For this purpose he gave up the
Congregational Ministry, so that it is only in a very
limited sense that his boy would be described as a son
of the manse. It was at Newport that Silvester Home
was educated and spent the whole of his boyhood.
Though just on the border of Staffordshire, and within
easy reach of a busy industrial district, Newport itself
is a purely agricultural market town of some 3,000
inhabitants. Its chief distinction is an old endowed
grammar school, where an excellent education is provided
at a moderate cost. At this school the Home boys were
brought up, and the elder brother Leonard writes of
it as follows : "In those days the Headmaster of the
Grammar School was Mr. Tom Collins, whose manly
character, energy, and good nature exerted a very

4 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

strong and healthy influence. He fostered games,
which, however, never assumed the importance attached
to them in boarding schools ; and he saw that a good
all-round education was given, though his own chief
interest was in teaching Greek and Latin. An exception
must be made as regards science, of which the boys
learnt little at that time. Charlie passed through the
school, rising from class to class with too little exertion,
his quick intelligence and retentive memory making
everything easy to him. He did not distinguish him-
self, however, except in English, where he showed real
power of expression and the faculty of committing to
memory long poems and speeches in the plays of
Shakespeare. He played cricket and football with zest
and success. The boys who attended the school were
largely sons of farmers of the neighbourhood and of the
professional men and tradesmen of the town. But there
was also a large contingent of the sons of labourers and
artizans who entered with scholarships from the ele-
mentary schools, and this fusion of classes was probably
one of the influences which helped to make Charlie so
much at home with all sorts and conditions of men,
and especially with the congregations of little village
chapels up and down the country."

But other and more potent influences even than the
school went to the shaping of Silvester Home. During
his boyhood the home life was very much under the
domination of the newspaper which his father edited.
The whole family was sometimes occupied in proof-
reading—an excellent training in accuracy and correct
expression— and at a very early age Home became
familiar with the processes of printing, and used to set
up in type his own compositions, both in prose and verse.
But the paper also led naturally to politics, and under
his father's wise guidance the boy began to acquire the
taste and enthusiasm for politics which remained with
him throughout his life. Though known as an ardent

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 5

Liberal and Nonconformist, the elder Home was accus-
tomed to write with a sobriety and fairmindedness which,
except, perhaps, at election times, commended his paper
to many whose politics were of a very different com-
plexion from his own. He always recognized that there
are two sides to most questions, and tried to understand
opinions which he could not share. His weekly " leaders "
won him very considerable influence in the locality,
and men looked to see what he had to say on matters
both of local and national interest. In those days
politics were very lively. Newport was a stronghold
of Conservatism, though it contained a good many
Radicals who found their inspiration in the Birmingham
of Dale, Chamberlain, and Bright. At this same fountain
of inspiration Silvester Home gladly and eagerly
drank.

Another and very powerful influence of Home's boy-
hood was the Newport Congregational Chapel and the
Sunday school attached to it. The chapel was the most
considerable Nonconformist place of worship in the town,
and exercised an unusual influence, largely through
Mr. Mark Thompson and Mrs. Home's kinsman, Charles
Silvester, a man of fine presence and saintly character,
and the little band of devout fellow-workers who gathered
round them. Home joined the church at the age of
sixteen, but he does not seem to have owed much to any
of its ministers. Nonconformity was a very unfashion-
able thing in Newport, and the church could only afford
a small stipend. So ministers came and went without
leaving any very permanent mark. The real life of
the church centred in the good men and women who
composed its membership and carried on its work.
They were in those days a fine and enthusiastic company.
In the cliquey atmosphere of a little country town it
was to friendships within the church that the Home
family were almost entirely confined, and it was to the
teachers in the Sunday school and to the leaders of the

6 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

Mutual Improvement Society that Silvester Home owed
all the religious education he obtained outside his home.
In the Sunday school he learned to know his Bible well,
and owed much to the example and devotion of the
humble and simple men and women who gave their time
and energy to the training of the young in Christian
ways. Home began teaching himself at an early age.
When he was between fourteen and fifteen he had charge
of a class of small boys, and at the same time we find
him writing papers for the Chapel Literary Society,
then almost the only centre of intellectual interest in the
town. A little later he began to help in the services
at a village preaching station called the Outwoods, and
he was not much more than sixteen when he preached
his first sermon there in a farm kitchen to a handful of
village folk. Though he had sometimes thought of the
Bar as a career, from this time forward grew his desire
to be a preacher of the Gospel. The religious convictions
formed thus early deepened with the years, and even
amid storm and stress never lost their first passion and
buoyancy. But there was nothing morbid or precocious
about the religion of his early years. He was a perfectly
natural boy, keen, lively, and intelligent, with a marked
faculty for making friends with all sorts and conditions
of people. He had a saving sense of humour which would
break out into doggerel rhymes on all sorts of occasions.
These, like his more serious efforts at versification in
later years, were often above the average, and always
showed considerable command of language. They wit-
ness to his irrepressible youthfulness of spirit, and formed
a real relief from graver things.

At the early age of sixteen Home found himself at
the top of the Grammar School. Newport could do
nothing more for him, and he was too young for an English
University. It was therefore decided to send him to
Scotland. After a few months' private study at King-
ston-on-Thames under the tuition of his brother Leonard,

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 7

who had just graduated at Cambridge, he gained an
open bursary at Glasgow, and went into residence there
in the autumn of 1881.

Home went up to Glasgow with his future still
uncertain, but with a growing inclination towards the
Congregational ministry. He showed no special bril-
liance as a student, but did his work conscientiously and
well, though he was often critical as to the methods fol-
lowed and sceptical as to the utility of the results
achieved. The only one of his teachers who seems to
have permanently influenced him was Dr. Edward Caird,1
then Professor of Moral Philosophy. Among his fellow-
students he easily took the lead, and was always popular.
He soon became the leading champion of Liberalism in
their debates, and his power as a speaker made him one
of the best -known men in the university in his time. He
thoroughly enjoyed the robust intellectual atmosphere
of the north, and in his classical, literary, and philo-
sophical studies he laid an excellent foundation for the
theological course which was to follow.

Of the life at Glasgow Home's friend and fellow-
student, the Rev. A. Furner, writes as follows : —

" When I want to set down my recollections of my
early companionship with Home, the task is not so easy
as I thought it would be, for there seems so much it is
good to remember, and so little to record, when he and I
were fellow-students at Glasgow and lived together.
The picture my memory draws of him in those days
differs little from my remembrance of him in later years,
for happily success did not spoil him, nor did his
strenuous life rob him of that almost boyish zeal with
which he threw himself into every task he under-
took.

" Of his years as a student at Glasgow there is, I think,
nothing of special interest to record. He always took

1 Afterwards Master of Balliol College, Oxford.

8 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

a good place in his classes, yet without any special dis-
tinction that I remember. That happy gift of doing
things quickly and easily which was so characteristic
in his later years was his then, and though he worked
quite honestly in all his college work, he knew nothing
of the * fag and grind of midnight oil ' which is associated
with the idea of the arduous student. But his days were
never wasted, for his reading and interests embraced
many things which lay very wide of the regular work of
his college life.

" In those days, in all political affairs connected with
the University, Home was an enthusiastic Liberal, and
he entered into them with the whole-hearted enthusiasm
which we were familiar with in his later years. In
the election of Lord Rector, which was the great political
occasion in the University life, Home was always in
the forefront of the fray — a merry, inventive, and most
enthusiastic worker. In the ' Dialectic,' too, where he
was a frequent and popular speaker, it was the political
contests in which he most gladly took part. G. H.
Morrison, Hugh Black, Cosmo Lang,1 with Home and
others whose names have since then become familiar,
shared the honours of those eager discussions, and so
gave early promise of the success which later years have
brought to them.

1 The students at Glasgow had not many opportu-
nities for preaching, but Home and I knew the ministers
at Coatbridge and Airdrie, and often went to one or other
of those churches to conduct the services ; and we helped
in some of the missions, and were frequent speakers at the
Sunday morning meetings of the Foundry Boys Associ-
ation. In all such work Home was a willing helper, and
although always a welcome speaker, there was no
suggestion then of the power which his later ministry
revealed. During his time in Glasgow Home was
connected with Elgin Place Church, where Dr. Goodrich

1 Now Archbishop of York.

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 9

then ministered, and he owed much, as indeed we all did,
to Dr. Goodrich' s ministry and friendship.

" Some of my happiest memories of those student
days gather about our summer holidays. In 1886
Home and I had a walking tour in Wales with James
Culross. Then, again, in 1888, we went up the Rhine
together, and stayed for a time at Heidelberg. These
holidays Home always planned and managed, and
although often the plans proved wrong or the manage-
ment faulty, his companionship made them holidays
never to be forgotten."

During the whole of his time at college Home kept
up a regular correspondence with his home. The
following letters show, better than any description, the
variety of his aims and interests at this time.

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

"December 8, 1884.

"... The first Dialectic debate came off on Friday.
The first debate always excites considerable interest, as
it may be taken as indicative of the way the divisions
are likely to go. So far I am quite satisfied with the
results of my canvassing. The subject was ' Hereditary
Government.' The debate was a good one and lively.
I found that references to Earl Cairns and Lord Garmoyle
had a riling effect on the Tories, also that mention of
Lord Fitzwilliam's name, who was in prison at the
division on the Franchise Bill, did not tend to soothe
them. We had much fun at the expense of the Lords,
and won by a majority of nineteen. So far, so good.

" A movement has been set on foot for providing a
Students' Un'on for Glasgow, on a similar plan to the
Oxford and Cambridge Unions. The Edinburgh men
are hard at work raising funds now, and there is no doubt

10 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

that we ought to have one. Representatives from all
the leading clubs and societies are to meet this week
or next. I am appointed as a representative of the
Liberal Club, and I intend to take the matter up
heartily. Unless you have had experience of the life
here, you have no idea of what a need this is. To
students living out of College there are so few opportu-
nities of getting to know one another and making those
real College friendships and having that student inter-
course which one feels will be always valuable. Jebb
and Ramsay are quite enthusiastic, and I believe most
if not all of the professors will co-operate heartily. A
reference to it at a business meeting of the Dialectic
after the debate on Friday provoked great enthusiasm
among the men.

" I have been offered the superintendency of the
Sunday school, but as you will easily imagine, I am not
enthusiastic. In fact, I don't know that I have natural
sternness enough for such a set of children as ours, and
consequently it would only be a burden. At the same
time, there are many improvements I think which
ought to be made in the school and might be made.
For this reason I feel inclined to try it, but have not
decided yet."

To his Father

" GLASGOW,

"February 16, 1885.

"... Last Tuesday John Morley was up delivering
his Presidential address to the Junior Liberal Asso-
ciation, and on Saturday I received from the Secretary
100 tickets to distribute to members of our Club. They
were Reserved Seat tickets, so we were fortunate. .
The Hall was very well filled and the platform uncom-
fortably full. John Morley is very young-looking, with
a finely cut head and a good delivery. His speech

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 11

was the most striking one I ever listened to, and his
utterances on the Egyptian question came in very useful.
Probably you read the speech, so there is no need for me
to describe it, but every sentence told. There was a
crowded Dialectic meeting on Friday, the Foreign Policy
being all the go just now. I had had such a sore throat
all the week that I was afraid I should not be able to
speak, but fortunately this was not so. It was very
difficult to get on, because feeling ran so high that there
were violent demonstrations at almost every sentence.
One Liberal spoke on the other side, and there was a
tremendous shout of jubilation from the Tories, and, of
course, of execration from the Liberals. The voting was
very exciting, and no one seemed to know who had won.
At last, however, the official count proved the result a
tie, and then Lambie, our Radical Chairman, voted
against the Foreign Policy, and I was done. It's just
like my luck. Last time I led a debate on Total
Abstinence, I was defeated by the casting vote of the
Chairman.

" And now I must tell you of the Union meeting,
held on Saturday in the Bute Hall. There was a crowded
attendance of students, but during the first part of the
proceedings they were very quiet. Lambie explained
our scheme, and then Dr. Bruce Young moved that ' it is
desirable to form a Union.' This was carried with great
enthusiasm. Wenley moved the election of a Committee,
consisting of representatives from all the Clubs and
societies. This was carried, as also were the other
two motions which you will see stated in the report. . . .

" There was an unprecedented scene at Natural
Philosophy on Tuesday morning. Last Monday the
paper was a most absurd one. I could not do a question
in it, and it seemed my case was that of about one-third
of the class. Some, like Jim, fell back on the ingenious
idea of sending in so many blank sheets with their
name at the back, so that if he weighs the papers, as

12 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

seems probable, they would get good marks. Well, on
Tuesday, as soon as Bottomley came in, there was a howl
and a hiss and a general uproar. The scene ' beggars
description.' Bottomley did not evidently understand,
and I was perplexed as to what it meant, though I half
guessed. Bottomley stood there as white as a sheet
amid the most frightful execrations. At last one student
got up and explained that it was the paper that was
objected to. On this Bottomley, amid prolonged howls,
produced a paper and endeavoured to defend it, but the
Class would hear of no defence. All through the hour
there was a steady tramping of feet and periodic hisses.
The Paper to-day is only slightly better. I don't know
what to do. Here is half the term gone by and I seem
to have got hardly elementary notions as to Natural
Philosophy. Thomson l and Bottomley seem to vie with
one another to give you as little as possible that is
helpful. The hours are literally wasted. If I am not to
come a complete cropper in Mathematics I must contrive
to get up some thoroughly sound ideas out of the text-
books. I am disgusted with the whole concern. . . ."

To his Mother

GLASGOW,
"November 16, 1885.

"... I should like to be able to shut my ears till
after Friday week, on which day Glasgow elections will
be decided. The Kirk question rages here — everybody
discusses it, and the whole thing is quite thrashed out.
It is, I suppose, quite impossible to go to an Established
Church now without hearing half the sermon devoted to
Disestablishment. My landlord is an Established Church-
man, but the sermons for Church Defence have so dis-

> Later Lord Kelvin. Though not greatly helped by his lectures
Home often spoke of the simplicity and earnestness of his prayers
at the opening of the session.

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 13

gusted him that he goes in now for Disestablishment.
A few more Sundays of Church Defence sermons and
Disestablishment will be safe.

"A few of us who are Congregational students held a
meeting here the other evening, and decided to have a tea
for the Congregational students of the University. We
intend to invite the Congregational ministers of Glasgow,
and we also intend to talk to them about their duty to
students. We have elected Joseph Jones as President,
because he is both a student (attending Hebrew and
Church History) and an ordained minister. I am
secretary for the present. We reckoned up about
twenty-five that we know well, and we are going to put
a notice up asking Congregational students to send in
their names.

" On Saturday I went out to Airdrie to see Jones.
Mr. Jenkins, the Congregational minister at Coatbridge,
near Airdrie, was very unwell, and asked me to preach
for him on the Sunday morning, which of course I did.
I walked out to Coatbridge, a largish place of about
17,000 people. The Congregational Church is a very
nice building, but unfortunately has a tremendous debt —
a great burden to the people. There is a back gallery,
but it is not opened. The body of the Church was well
filled. It is very likely I may go over and preach
for Mr. Jenkins again, as he thinks of taking a
holiday.

" I went back to Airdrie after the service and went
to Jones' place at night. This is an exceedingly nice
chapel, wonderfully bright and attractive both inside and
out. The people are very enthusiastic about him, and
they tell me that the congregations are very greatly
improved. If he preaches as well as he did last night,
I don't wonder at it. . ."

14 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" December 5, 1885.

"... My first word must be of hearty congratulation
on the splendid success of Mr. Bickersteth. Indeed, you
have done well in Shropshire to send three Liberals and
one Tory for four county seats. All the counties have
done well— Yorkshire especially. The Irish vote has
helped the Tories to carry two county seats here : but
that is nothing great to boast of, as they were both
carried by very narrow majorities. I regret nothing
so much in the whole election as Sir Wilfrid Lawson's
defeat by ten votes. He is a man the House of Commons
cannot afford to spare. . . .

" The most interesting event of the week has been the
annual soire"e of Jones' Church. This was held on
Thursday last. As a rule they get one or two Glasgow
ministers to go over and speechify, but as one or two
who were asked could not go, Jones asked Furner,
E. K. Evans, and me to go over instead. We agreed
to go, and Jim came with us. The result, of course, was
amusing. That we might not clash in our subjects
we made the arrangement that Furner was to dress down
the pastor (Jones), I was to dress down the congregation,
and Evans' only remaining alternative was to dress down
'the previous speakers.' So far everything was
satisfactory. We arrived and made our first trial of a
real Scotch Soiree. As you deliver up your ticket you
are handed a mysterious bag — much resembling the bag
our children get at Treats — and with this bag you march
to your seat gallantly. After due speculation from the
outside, you explore the interior of the bag and find —
everything. A sort of Scotch Haggis dry. Scones and
cakes, biscuits and a packet of sweets, etc. etc. Then
you have your tea, which you have to contrive to make
stand upon the slanting pew-board. This is a lesson

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 15

in the inclined plane. I pass over the sneering remarks
with which Furner passed me four or five cups of tea,
insisting that it was to keep me from being ' very dry ' ;
they were unworthy of the occasion. My turn to jeer
was coming. I asked Jones in Turner's presence if there
was good egress from his Church, as I was confident
there would be a rush for the doors when Furner began
to speak, and in the crush to get out a calamity might
occur. Having been satisfied on this point, Furner, Evans,
and I mounted the platform. The church was crowded,
and looked very animating. After an address from an
Airdrie minister, Turner's turn came. I must say he
made a capital speech, as amusing as usual. His dry
hits, however, were many of them lost on the Scotch
congregation. They refused to see his joke that he had
given up in despair the idea of talking on ' the Failings
of Church Members,' as that subject would take years
rather than minutes. But they screamed over his des-
cription of the eloquent young student who was closing
a brilliant speech, and exclaimed ' My friends ! the great
need of the Church to-day is more men and fewer of
them.' Evans sang the people a Welsh song, which
seemed to highly amuse them. He has a very musical
voice. I spoke on being charitable — the prevailing
habit of criticism and so on. We had a most bright and
interesting meeting, and got home to Glasgow about
eleven o'clock. Furner is out preaching at Coat bridge
to-day. . . .

*' We shall have a tremendous row next Friday on
Disestablishment at the Dialectic. Am afraid there is
no chance of carrying it. They say it has never been
carried. Had a good debate on the Theatre on Friday.
I was in the Chair. . . .

" Have you seen that Mr. Goodrich 1 has been invited
to Baldwin Brown's Church at Brixton ? He is nearly

1 Minister of Elgin Place Congregational Church, and afterwards
of Chorlton Road, Manchester.

16 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

sure to go, as Glasgow has never suited him, and his wife
has been ordered a change. ... I certainly think he
ought to go, and refused to sign the young men's petition
asking him to stay. I went to hear him preach to-day,
and he gave us a splendid sermon on the spirit of adop-
tion. In point of preaching he will do well at Brixton, I
should think.

" Nothing like turning elections to account. Turner
has offered to stand treat if Harcourt and Roe got in for
Derby if I would do the same if Bickersteth got in for
Newport. I knew the first two were a certainty, and
that the latter was very doubtful, so willingly closed the
bargain. The result has been great feasting in Willow-
bank Street. Arthur also invited me to tea as Winter-
botham was in. I have always thought well of
Elections — especially when Liberals get in. ..."

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

"December 13, 1885.

"... On Tuesday, after classes, at three o'clock
Jim and I sallied forth to Loch Burnie and had a grand
time at skating until it was too dark to see. The ice
was beautifully hard and clear, and the evening very
bright with a splendid sunset. We enjoyed ourselves
hugely. On Friday, when Furner and I got up to College,
we found notices up that the Senate had granted a
4 Skating Holiday,' and no classes would meet ; but as
it was then rapidly thawing, and continued so all day,
the purpose of the holiday was a fraud.

" Mr. Goodrich has declined the invitation to succeed
Baldwin Brown. We are all very much surprised up
here that he should have refused it, as we felt certain
he would go as soon as we heard that he had been invited.
However, here he is the Congregational minister of
Scotland : there he would be but one among very

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 17

many. Perhaps his present position is the most en-
viable.

" I am sending you a programme of our Total Absti-
nence Conversazione of last Wednesday night. It was a
success : the room being well filled, and there being far
more students present than at previous meetings of the
kind. Professor Calderwood (Moral Philosophy, Edin-
burgh) made a most capital speech. He is the President
of the T.A.S. at Edinburgh, and he impressed upon us
that Professors and Students have their duties ' outside
the class-room,' a sentiment that I cheered to the echo.
In fact, he believes the more important part of our
education is received otherwise than at classes and from
books. I feel a great respect for Calderwood.

" McKendrick, our President, made a capital speech,
and generally was invaluable in providing orchestra and
performers. Furner and I persuaded several members
of Jones' congregation to come over, and they all
enjoyed themselves immensely. Furner has gone to
Coatbridge to preach again, and I preach at Airdrie on
Sunday next and at Macclesfield the Sunday after.

" The Debate on Disestablishment fell flat. There
was an audience of little over a hundred. The holiday
no doubt militated against it, and English and Welsh
students did not take enough interest in the Disestablish-
ment of the Scotch Church. The result was Disestablish-
ment was lost by 50 to 36. All the Established Church
Theological Hall of course trooped up and carried the day.

" I went to a Foundry Meeting this morning — a large
hall very closely packed, about 400 in all, but of very
varying ages. They sang splendidly, and I think we all
enjoyed the meeting.

" To-morrow we have our Congregational students'
gathering, when we hope to have a capital evening. On
Saturday next is Caird's first Examination, involving
very close work this week. . . ."

18 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" January 10, 1886.

"... At work again ! I am glad, after all, to be able
to write it. There is but little more than three months
till examination time and the final tug of war. Furner
came back on the Tuesday morning, arriving at 6 a.m.
He brought a great box of good things for our consump-
tion, so that we are well supplied with luxuries just now.
The weather has been a caution ! We have had deep
snow and hard frosts : one complete thaw and severe
frost in a single night leaving the streets as a sheet of
glass. Yesterday we had glorious skating ; this morning
we woke to find two inches of snow, which is now thawing
fast. On Thursday morning I received a notice from
the Secretary of the Dialectic Society that the President
was resigning, as he had too much work on his hands.
Next morning I found everyone in a fluster, as similar
notices had been sent out generally. After consideration
and deliberation with the other fellows, the general
opinion was that I ought to stand for the Presidency,
which with great hesitation I consented to do. The
Election had, of course, to take place on Friday night.
Stevenson was put up on the part of the Tories, and
having been seven or eight years connected with the
Society, had a great advantage in this way over myself.
However, I did not trouble, not being very anxious either
way, and the result showed that there was no necessity,
as I received 50 votes to Stevenson's 15. The only
troublous part of the business is that I shall thus have
to sit opposite Professor Jebb at the dinner and hob-a-
nob with all those old professors ! . . . Next piece of
news. The result of Caird's Moral Philosophy Examina-
tion is published. The names are put in classes, but
only in alphabetical order in the several classes. I
am in the First class, but have no means of telling my
position in it."

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 19

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" January 25, 1886.

"... Yesterday morning I went to speak at a
Foundry meeting at Springbank. I was once before
there at a meeting. It is a large, square hall holding, I
should say, four or five hundred, and despite the weather,
every seat was full. Furner came with me. The singing
was capital. The mixing, however, of children who are
pretty young with young men and women of twenty-five
or so makes it a most difficult meeting to address success-
fully. On the whole we had a very good time, and
enjoyed it.

" We are practising an anthem up at Mrs. B.'s. I
ordered ' Daughter of Zion' at a music-seller's here, and
he got me the wrong piece; but we got the right one
afterwards, and I think all like it. I am practising the
accompaniment on the violin, and as the others have no
conception of the time, or M. B. of how to play the
accompaniment, it is lively for the neighbours.

" Jim and I went to Mr. Goodrich's yesterday after-
noon and heard a sermon to young women. Quite a
treat to hear them pitched into : it's always young men
who get it hot from the pulpit. L. ought to have
been there ! . . .

" This week promises to be very full of work. It
continually happens here that a month's work will
accumulate, whether you like it or not, on to one week.
We have essays for Caird, exercises for Caird, Prose
for Jebb, exam, coming on for Jebb, besides other
work of a more regular description. This week, for
the first time, my exercises for Caird were put in the
First Class.

" The more I think of it and the more I read Fairbairn's
articles, the more I am drawn towards Oxford. It is
early yet to decide but not to consider. If there was a

20 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

chance of getting a £25 scholarship, there ought to be a
reasonable hope of materially increasing that sum by
one's supply work. Then the fees should not be heavy
at Mansfield, and lodging out of College ought to be
reasonable. I hope you and Father will talk it over. I
hear from Turner that the amalgamation of Airedale l
and Rotherham has been submitted to an arbitration
committee."

To his Father

" GLASGOW,

" January 31, 1886.

"... Dr. Macleod, one of our medical professors,
told his class on Friday that a certain friend of his, a
doctor in Glasgow, had asked him how best he could
immortalize his name in connection with the University.
Dr. Macleod suggested the Union, and the said friend,
whose name is not as yet to be divulged, has intimated
to the Senate his desire, with their consent, to build
and furnish throughout a Students' Union at his own
expense ! Of course everybody is full of speculations
as to who this doctor is, but here are all our burdens
of money-getting removed from us just as they were
beginning to look formidable. Glasgow scores off
Edinburgh again, for they are still in the throes of money-
begging f°r their Union. I think your advice about
summing up at the Dialectic is right, and that it will be
best not to do it. It would be impossible, I fancy, for
me to sum up without letting my opinion be known.
We had an amusing (to me) discussion the other Friday
as to whether we could alter our constitution without
consulting the Senate. Of course I ridiculed the idea
of our being dependent on the Senate, and ruled at once
that we could do as we liked. The Glasgow News,
which brings out a column of University News every week

1 Two Yorkshire Colleges, now " The Yorkshire United College
Bradford."

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 21

and is a rabid Tory organ, calls my speech ' prompt and
spirited,' which is as amusing as the discussion.

" Have you seen that the Baptist Union Committee
has unanimously resolved to nominate Dr. Culross as
Vice-President of the Union this year, which means
that he will be President next, all being well. Jim
tells me he was asked once before when minister in
London, but declined. He felt, however, obliged to
consent this time because of his position. I am very
glad. . . .

" I am glad the Government are out. It is not
representative Government when we are ruled by a
Government that has a large minority in the House.
Don't you think Parnell ought to be Chief Secre-
tary? . . ."

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" February 6, 1886.

"... On Saturday we had a great public meeting of
students to consider the constitution of the Union. As
the last was a very noisy meeting, we anticipated no
Elysian time. It was a very big meeting, but contrary
to expectation most orderly and business-like. I did
not want to speak; but they gave me a resolution to
propose, so I had to do so. It was rather a good thing,
too, as it gave me an opportunity of trying whether I
could be heard in our big Bute Hall. A friend of mine
told me I was distinctly and easily heard at the end, and
I spoke with no effort at all, so am satisfied. We had one
big division, and the fellows divided over to opposite
sides of the hall. Then Wenley and I counted one side
by benches and two others the other side, and we
managed very well. . . ."

22 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

To his Father

" GLASGOW,

" February 14, 1886.

"... To-day we have heard two sermons from Dr.
Macfadyen, l of Manchester, at Mr. Goodrich's. He is very
bald, with an exceptionally long head. I should imagine
him a very kind man, with an altogether beautiful spirit.
His sermons have been very vigorous, fresh, and inspiring.
This afternoon, preaching on the Crucifixion from the
words ' They crucified the Son of God afresh and put Him
to an open shame,' he mentioned several people who
had a part in the Crucifixion — Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate,
the Disciples — since they fled — and Judas, and made
them all types of people in our own day. On the whole,
however, this morning's sermon was the more striking
one. As he is to lecture to-night in St. Andrew's Halls,
he is being well worked while here.

' You would see by the papers that Professor Nichol
has been arrested in Naples. It has been all the talk of
the quadrangles this week, and has occasioned great
merriment. Most fellows, I think, regard it as paying off
a lot of old scores : the general opinion is that we should
like to have seen him glare at those unfortunate gen-
darmes who had to arrest him.

14 To-day Hugh Price Hughes has been in Glasgow, and
I have heard him twice, this morning at a Wesleyan
Church and this evening at St. Andrew's Halls on Total

Abstinence. Both addresses were very characteristic

racy and telling. The sermon was just as much a
platform speech as the evening lecture. He preached on
witness-bearing. Speaking of the necessity for being
bold in bearing witness, he said many ministers were
afraid of Conferences or Unions. ' Emancipation from
the fear of the Wesleyan Conference is one of the most
delightful things I know.' ..."

» Then Minister of Chorlton Road Church.

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 23

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" February 21, 1886.

"... Another very busy week has passed, and with
Caird's exam, over, I can breathe freely again. It was
held on Saturday morning, and was very stiff. I did
not do particularly well, only fairly. My essay on
Stoicism is first in the Second Class, there being four
others above it. I see now that Father was right when he
said I had not a philosophical mind. As I write an
essay, I consider how it would sound to an audience,
the result being an essay in a popular rather than philo-
sophical spirit. I fear I have not, and shall not acquire
that great spiritual gift of dryness which is essential
to the successful philosopher. Caird says my essay
was well written, many expressions being very happy,
but it lacked ' firmness of thought,' which I presume
is, being interpreted, long philosophical technicalities
arranged in rigid logical sequence.

" Next week we are to have our elections for a
students' representative Council. I have been chosen to
act as returning officer and conduct the elections in the
first and second year of Arts. No doubt those wild,
raw, undisciplined first-yearers will lead me a pretty
dance, before doing their business. It will be great fun,
and I hope successful also. By the bye, I may as well
mention here a certain fact that has transpired, and
which is a source of considerable amusement to many of
us. I have two more meetings arranged in connection
with the Foundry Association. On the plan sent me
one was set down as ' The City Hall.' This I took to
be one of the small halls there, but it turns out to be a
large meeting held in the great hall which seats 4,000
people. So I shall have a chance of holding forth, at any
rate once in my life, in a great building. It is, of course,
no small score, and I am greatly rejoicing at the prospect.

24 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

(N.B.— Don't imagine there will be anything like 4,000
people there !)

" On Friday night we had one of the events of the
session from a student's point of view. Once a year
the Medical Society here comes and joins the Dialectic
in a joint debate. This year the subject was ' Class
Examination,' and as the Medical President took the
chair last year, it fell to my lot this year. There
was a big meeting and an animated debate. The
four opening papers were splendid— Wenley's especially
so — the general opinion being that Class Exams,
should be voluntary, though one or two went in
strongly for their abolition. We are going to have
a great election time soon, electing the first really
representative Students' Council, or really Union
Committee. We are going to vote in * years,' the first
year in Arts voting together, the first in Medicine,
and so on. The fourth-year men and upwards meet
together. All the principal Clubs and Societies have
representatives as well, so I hope we shall have a really
strong Council. Caird's second exam, is on Saturday,
so this week will be a very busy one. I shall be glad to
have it over. . . . Jones is lecturing to the Airdrie
Mechanics' Institute on Victor Hugo on Tuesday. There
is a movement on foot to present Edward Caird with his
portrait. It is a very swell Committee. They sent me
a circular the other day, but as the subscription is limited
to from 1 guinea to 5 guineas, it is out of the question "

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

" February 28, 1886.

"... This morning I had a walk right away into the
East End to a Foundry meeting, and, of course, an
address to give. We had a most splendid meeting. The
President of the meeting stopped to tell me that he is

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 25

coming over from the Presbyterians to the Congrega-
tionalists, and wanted to know about our new society at
College for Independent students. This afternoon Canon
Farrar was preaching at the College Chapel, so off we
went, Arthur, Jim, and I. I never should have believed
that so many people could have been got into the Bute
Hall. It was crammed in every part. We had very good
places, and the service was very grand. The main thing
that struck me about the Canon was his marvellous voice.
It was like a beautiful silver bell, clear and ringing.
The sermon was on Missions, and the language was per-
fect ; but there were no striking thoughts, and I feel sure
I have heard as good missionary sermons from people
who would not have attracted an audience of a hundred
people. But they are not Canons and D.D.'s, and so
are unknown. Then to-night I have been off again to
the South Side — at least two miles — to speak at a meet-
ing for a friend of mine who is a town missionary. It
was a crowded meeting, and pretty much used me up.
Then the walk home, and now, as I say, I feel tired.

" I must tell you now of a most successful gathering
we had this week of Independent students. You
remember that when we Congregational students last met
we resolved to broaden the basis of our society and admit
Baptists and Evangelical Unionists. The result was, we
had on Friday a gathering of between thirty and forty
students. Jones was there, but had to leave early. We
had tea, and then made a constitution and formed our
Society. After this Jones left, and I took the Chair,
and we had the social part. It was a great success,
everybody entering heartily into it and enjoying them-
selves immensely. Altogether it was a most successful
inauguration, and I believe the Society will be a suc-
cess. I am especially interested in it because the idea
originated with me, and it will be something definite to
leave behind.

" Our Elections have gone on busily during the week.

26 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

On the whole I think the Council will be a good one :
the fellows seem to have chosen mostly sensible and
suitable representatives. The Elections I had to conduct
were orderly and business-like, and the results quite
satisfactory. My constituency is the Dialectic. Now,
O Senate of Glasgow, look out for squalls ! We are
concentrating our power ! There will be life here m
the future, and liberty more than nominal ! Amen and
Amen. But I shall not ' be there to see ' ! It is un-
fortunate to be leaving with the rise of the Union, the
Independent Association, the Council, and so on. It is
now known for certain that the donor of the Union has
given £5,000. We had expected the building to cost
£4,500, but since this gift we have slightly enlarged our
plans, and shall collect a further sum probably so as to
have the Union complete in every way. To-morrow is
a holiday, and I am going to Airdrie. ..."

To his Mother

" GLASGOW,

"March 15, 1886.

". . . We had the results of Caird's second exam, this
week, and I am again in the First Class : there is no order
of merit beyond classes. There is only one more exam,
in Caird's class. We had to pay in our guineas for the
various departments of our degree this week. Of course
I had only to pay one guinea for Philosophy. There
seem to be a great many fellows entering. On Tuesday
last we had the first meeting of the Students' Represen-
tative Council, to appoint office-bearers, and so on.
Wenley was chosen President. I was made Secretary
for Arts for the remainder of the session. They also
want me to be made President of the Liberal Club, and
hold the office till next November, as there is a difficulty
otherwise in filling it up. I don't know how it will be
decided.

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 27

" The final debate at the Dialectic on a vote of confi-
dence in the present Government came off on Friday.
The Vice-President took the Chair that I might be able
to make a final speech. The debate was very good and
lively. The division was the closest we have had this
session, there being a majori y of two in favour of the
Government. In connection with the presentation of
a portrait to Edward Caird, I was asked to superintend a
class subscription, so on Friday we had a meeting, which
was considerable fun. It's no joke to preside at such a
meeting, for everybody speaks at once, and to bring
order out of chaos and get anything done is a caution.
We did succeed in getting a Committee appointed, and
that was pretty much all.

" That the end of the session is approaching is wit-
nessed by the Class prizes having been voted in Litera-
ture. I am very glad to say that Griffith has got the
fourth prize in the Junior. The Senior prizes seem to
have been as unfairly voted as ever, but Stowell, of
Airedale, came in fifth.

" Joseph Jones has gone home to Wales, from whence
he writes in high glee over the narrow division on Welsh
Disestablishment. It is indeed ' the writing on the
wall.' He says Wales is rejoicing greatly at the near
prospect of Disestablishment. I hope they will not be
much longer disappointed. I went over to Airdrie on
Saturday to take his place on Sunday. We had good
congregations both times. In the afternoon I took his
Bible Class, which means a half-hour's address. All the
people were as usual exceedingly kind, and I enjoyed my
stay very much indeed.

" This morning, in coming back to Glasgow I was one
of the first passengers to go through the underground
railway which is opened to-day. . . ."

28 EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

To his Father

" GLASGOW,

" April 6, 1886.

". . . Thank you very much for the offer of Dr. Dale's
books'. ' I should like them immensely. I had thought
that if you offered me some books I should ask you for
Frederick Robertson's, but I have no idea what is the
price of the latter. Which do you think would be more
useful to me ? I may say I have Dale's Week-day
Sermons and Congregational Principles. . . .

" There is little news to tell you this week. It has
become the dull monotony of the drudgery that precedes
the actual struggle. Caird's final exam, was on Saturday
—a very stiff paper— almost, if not quite, unfair. Am
afraid I shall come down a class because of it. Jebb's
results are out. I am seventh in Plutarch and eighth in
Oedipus, my marks in both being about the same, 250
out of 300.

" Turner, Arthur, and I went to see Preston North End
play the Queen's Park on Saturday. Jones also came
over from Airdrie. The match was a magnificent one,
but the Scotchmen were not in it in dribbling and passing.
The Preston men ran in and out of them like anything,
but were very weak in front of goal. The Queen's Park,
as usual, did best in rushes.

" By the bye, half in fun, half in earnest, I wrote to
Mr. Ruskin last week about his calling Emerson ' poison-
ous ' when in Fors he praises him for his appreciation
of true heroism. To-day I had a letter from him highly
amusing and characteristic. You shall see it when you
come. . . ."

The writer of these letters is obviously very much of a
boy, with a boy's irresponsibility, and yet with a gravity
beyond his years. Home's student days were evidently
formative in many senses, but he does not seem to have
passed through any serious spiritual or intellectual crisis

EARLY DAYS, SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 29

such as is common at the period of adolescence. This
was partly due to the fact that religion had never been
presented to him in any hard dogmatic way, and partly
to the practical bent of his own mind. His beliefs were
rooted in experience, and so held in such form as to be
easily adaptable to new conditions and a larger intellec-
tual outlook. At the same time, his keen interest in
human nature, and his determination to make his faith
the foundation of a message to others, saved him from
anything in the nature of mere theorizing. It was often
remarked of him that his religion seemed to be so utterly
natural. He had grown up gradually into the truths he
learned to live by ; but he held them, or rather they held
him, as firmly as if they had been won at the cost of
much storm and stress. This is not to say that he never
had qualms or doubts. He had, and they made him
extraordinarily sympathetic with those in like case.
But they never mastered him or hindered him as they
do some. They were but the growing pains of his soul,
and only served to increase his assurance and the fervour
of his testimony. In debates with his fellow-students
he always gave proof of a singularly open mind, but
also of an unusual maturity of conviction on fundamental
Christian truths.

CHAPTER II

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

AFTER taking his degree, Home set himself to undergo
three years' training in theology, that he might be
thoroughly equipped for the great work of the Christian
ministry. It had originally been intended that he should
join Spring Hill College, Birmingham, his father's Alma
Mater. But just at that time plans were under discussion
for the removal of Spring Hill to Oxford. Home was
greatly attracted to Oxford and to Dr. Fairbairn, who
was to be head of the new college ; but he was not anxious
to join Spring Hill in the then uncertain state of its
fortunes. He wrote to his father from Glasgow : "I
sincerely hope the move will be made to Oxford this
Summer. To tell the truth, I do not much take to the
idea of going to Spring Hill with no kind of knowledge
whether they will move in my time or not." For-
tunately the change was made just at the right moment
for him, and in the autumn of 1886 Mansfield College
was established in Oxford, and Home became one of its
first small band of students. Of his admission to the
college he wrote to his parents as follows : —

To his Father

" 3 WALTON CRESCENT, OXFOBD,
" October 18, 1886.

'To set your minds at rest, I may as well say at the
beginning that I have been admitted a student of Mans-
field with a scholarship of £50, and that I am to have £10

30

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 31

at once, an excellent arrangement — the remainder to be
paid in instalments of £10 at given periods. Now as to
the whole history of the proceedings. I got here about
9 o'clock, and am exceedingly pleased with my habita-
tion. The landlady is very pleasant and the rooms are
luxurious. I have a nice bookshelf that just takes all
my present stock of books, and there is plenty of room
for more in other parts. After due survey of my where-
abouts, I sallied forth to find High Street, purchased a
University Calendar, noted the site of our present rooms,
and then returned. At 12.30 I found a large crowd of
old boys assembled outside 90 High Street, and when
they had all passed in, I made a trembling entrance.
My fellow-victims then began to arrive, and we were
shown into one of the Mansfield Halls, where Dr. Fair-
bairn received us most kindly. I liked him at once ; a
manner very like Dr. Culross's, and just his Scotch accent.
Of course the victims became friendly : there was a
Mr. Wolfendale of Cambridge, Selbie of Oxford, Dr.
Macfadyen's son, Mr. Robinson of Edinburgh, and two
old Spring Hill men — Sharpe and Parker. Macfadyen
and the two last are taking the Degree course here.
Wolfendale was executed first : he seemed very nervous,
but no doubt got through all right. Then Fairbairn
fetched me. There were a lot of old dons, but most of
them strangers to me ; Dr. Dale asked the questions,
Fairbairn sat next to him, and Mackennal of Bowdon
next. Then there was Mr. Clarkson of Birmingham,
and Alderman Manton. I am not sure if Dr. Conder was
there or not. I did not feel at all nervous, for I could
not see most of them, and Dr. Dale I felt at home with.
After a few general questions as to age and date of going
to Glasgow, and where educated and so on, Dr. Dale
asked if I had ever had any doubts since I joined the
Church of my acceptance with God. I said ' None.'
' Be very thankful for that, my friend,' he said with
great emphasis, whereat one or two chuckled. Then

82 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

followed questions as to what kind of Christian work
I had engaged in. I told them as well as I could. Dr.
Dale seemed amused when I said I preached before going
to Glasgow. ' You began pretty young,' he said.
Then followed the only amusing part of the proceedings.
Dr. Dale asked me to give them some idea of how I
preached. ' Do you use manuscript ? ' he said. ' Yes,'
I replied. * Always ? ' * Yes, always.' ' Did you
belong to a debating society at Glasgow ? ' ' Yes.'
' How did you speak there ? ' ' From small notes,'
I replied. * Did you never try without any notes ? '
' Yes,' I said, and added after a pause, ' once ! '
' Oh,' said Dr. Dale, ' didn't that encourage you to try
again ? ' I shrugged my shoulders and said ' No '
decisively, which tickled the Board immensely. After
this the questions were as to whether Glasgow life in-
fluenced my religious views at all, and so on. This was
all. Dr. Dale asked if anybody else would like to ques-
tion me. Mr. Clarkson asked if I meant Home or Foreign
work. Another old boy asked if my health was good,
another if I liked preaching. These answered, I forsook
the assembly of the saints, having enjoyed it far better
than I thought. When the others had duly been
through the ordeal, we were all called in, and Dr. Dale
announced that five of us had been granted Theological
scholarships and Macfadyen a literary one. He then
gave a very beautiful address, saying that while others
came to Colleges that were full of old traditions, we had
got to make the traditions of Mansfield. A prayer by
Mackennal concluded the proceedings. The lunch was
at 2.15, at the swell Hotel here — the Randolph. We
were there in good time, and as I breakfasted at 7.30,
I was hungry— properly ravenous. A gentleman called
me by name to sit down by him, and said he expected
I knew his brother Mark. It was Mr. Simon of Leicester.
He and I chatted most of luncheon-time about Wollerton
and Newport. Dr. Dale proposed Mansfield and its

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 33

Principal, and Fairbairn replied. At 4 o'clock the
inaugural address was delivered by Fairbairn. It was
quite a splendid effort. Then followed a brief prayer-
meeting of a most inspiring character, Mr. Clarkson,
Mr. Mackennal, and Dr. Dale taking part. At the con-
clusion there was a general hand-shaking, Dr. Dale asking
to be remembered to you. Dr. Fairbairn stopped me
going out, and asked me to come along to his house at
7 o'clock, as I could not be there last Friday. Accord-
ingly I went and saw the Dr., who was much exhausted.
Mr. Mackennal came in, and we had tea. Fancy a tea-
meeting consisting of Dr. Fairbairn, the President of the
Congregational Union, and little me. It was very jolly.
Mr. Mackennal said that Mr. Home and himself went
at the same time from different colleges to Burton-on-
Trent and Odiham to preach. They would not have
Mr. Home at Burton nor him at Odiham. They changed
about ; and then Mr. Home was invited to Odiham and
he to Burton-on-Trent.

" But the most interesting and inspiring thing about
Mansfield came from Dr. Fairbairn. We are having
lectures in historical rooms. The main lecture hall is
the old Oxford Union, where Gladstone delivered all his
great orations. The other hall is King Charles I's
room, where he stayed during the siege of Oxford,
celebrated in John Inglesant. Truly, as Fairbairn says,
we are on classic soil. After tea, a number of others
came in — two Macfadyens, a Balliol man who knew Owen
Edwards, and several more ; lastly Horton's friend,
W. L. Courtney, whose lectures delighted Leonard so
much. We discussed the plans of Mansfield, which are
very handsome indeed. Dr. Hatch, Jowett, and Canon
Freemantle have all been down to examine the plans,
and have made various practical suggestions. This
reminds me to say that Fairbairn says we shall have
quite enough work from him and Massie and the Hebrew
tutor, and that we shall only attend Hatch besides, who
3

84 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

only lectures one hour a week, and who, he says, will
not be very interesting. We left Dr. Fairbairn's about
half-past ten.

"Wolfendale is lodging at No. 12 in this crescent,
and seems a very nice fellow. There is a probability,
so Fairbairn says, of Paton coming next term, and
also a suggestion that A. W. Dale should be appointed
professor of Church polity here.

"And so opens what the High Churchmen here are
pleased to call the ' Dissenteries.' ..."

This letter indicates something of the zest and interest
with which Home began his work in Oxford. Though
a graduate of another university, and a little older than
the average undergraduate in Oxford, he threw himself
eagerly into the life of the place. As was the custom
with Mansfield men, he matriculated as a non-collegiate
student. This enabled him to join the Union and
other university societies, where he soon began to make
himself felt. In the little circle at Mansfield especially
he was like a breath of fresh air. To tell the truth, it was
rather a self-conscious little group. The men felt that
they were helping to make history, and were anxious to
lay well the foundations of the new college and to estab-
lish its junior common-room life on sound traditions.
Coming, as he did, from the bracing atmosphere of a big
Scotch university, Home brought to their deliberations
a touch of robust criticism and sanctified common sense.
He acted as secretary of the J.C.R. during the whole of
his three years at the college— an unusually long tenure
of the office — and he certainly left his mark on the young
society. He was popular with everyone, being still
very much of a boy, and having that personal charm
that is so much more easily felt than described. He
had a marked influence on the religious life of the college.
In spite of his youthful manner and appearance, there
was an unexpected maturity in his spiritual experience.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 85

His ideal of the ministry was a high and noble one, with-
out the least taint of that professionalism which is the
greatest peril of theological students. Even among
his fellows Home soon showed himself a born preacher.
He had a remarkably easy command of language, with
a vivid and impetuous style. But he was never merely
fluent. He always knew what he meant to say, and did
not let his tongue run away with him. Above all, he
was tremendously in earnest. He had a Gospel to preach,
and the word was " like a fire in his bones." Even in
these early days Home showed all that passion for
evangelism which marked him throughout his career,
and made him in time one of the most convincing and
successful of evangelists. This was but the natural out-
come of an intense religious experience and an unusually
strong grip of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

At Oxford Home soon became known in a much wider
circle than that of Mansfield. He joined the Union at
once, and began to take part in its debates. His ex-
perience at Glasgow stood him in good stead, though the
political atmosphere of the two places was about as
different as it could well be. The causes which Home
loved to champion were not those most in favour in
the Oxford of his day, and, if he won some rather sur-
prising victories, something was no doubt due to the
skill and fervour with which he presented his case. On
one memorable occasion he proposed and carried a
motion, " That this House regrets its past history as
recorded in the minutes of public business." It was not
difficult to compile from the Union records a damning
story of reaction, and Home did it inimitably. On other
occasions he spoke in favour of disestablishment, educa-
tion reform, Sunday closing of public-houses, and against
coercion in Ireland. Of the last-named debate he
writes : —

" The motion was proposed by an ex-President, a

86 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

clever man, but who was rather off the point. It was
opposed by Lang,1 an old Glasgow man, the cleverest
Tory the Union has had for a long time. I spoke
third, and by this time the Union was in a most
excited state. The Tories had all the fierceness of
despair and the Liberals the exaltation of success.
For fully three minutes I had to stand after declaring
that it was the duty of the Irishmen to resist the
Coercion Act. * Treason ! treason ! ' they cried, while
the Liberals applauded tumultuously. Altogether it
was fine fun, and we polled 43, a very good number."

Home also became one of the founders and chief pro-
moters of the Milton Club, a society of the younger Free
Churchmen in the university for the discussion of
subjects in which they were specially interested. It
took the place of the older Nonconformist Union and
Society for the Promotion of Religious Equality. At its
more informal discussions Home was at his best. His
Free Churchmanship was of a very robust type, almost
too much so for some of his contemporaries on whom the
influence of Oxford was strong. Many of them will
remember fierce and prolonged debates in which he
championed his cause and withstood his enemies with
equal eloquence and good humour.

At Mansfield Home was no more than a good average
student. His interest did not lie in the direction of
exact scholarship, and he allowed himself too many
distractions ever to excel in examinations. But he was
keenly alive to the necessity for a rigorous intellectual
discipline as a preparation for his life work, and he was
at least as well read as the best men of his time. There
is rather a characteristic outburst in a letter to his father
written at the end of his first year : " Next week we
are to have a swarm of exams., to my intense disgust.
I did hope that the Mansfield authorities would contrive

1 Now Archbishop of York.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 37

to rise above the present sickening craze, especially as
there are but six of us ; but it is not to be so." It should
be added, however, that he took a good second class in
all the papers. There is no doubt that even in his
student days his chief interest was in preaching, and to
this everything else had to give way. Already his fame
had begun to spread in the churches, and he received
many invitations to preach in some of the most notable
Congregational pulpits. He first preached for Dr. Dale
at Carr's Lane, Birmingham, in 1887. Writing to his
father, he describes in a half-humorous way his youthful
tremors at the sight of the grave and reverend deacons,
and his sense of unfitness for the task. But he tells, too,
how it was all dissipated at the spectacle of the vast
congregation and the sound of their singing, and how he
was able to preach to them with entire freedom and com-
fort on " The love of Christ constraineth us." This was
an experience which he repeated in several of the chief
Congregational churches in London and the provinces,
and he became much in request as a preacher of great
attractiveness and promise. Such almost premature
popularity would have turned the head of a weaker man.
But Home never lost his modesty, and was almost over-
powered by the sense of his vocation and of the responsi-
bility of his work. He loved these historic chapels.
They stood to him for the cause of religious freedom
with which he had long ere this thoroughly identified him-
self. They were made sacred to him by great memories,
and by the names of ministers whom he had been taught
to revere. It was an inspiration to stand in the pulpits
of such men, and, however unworthily, to follow in their
steps. But quite apart from such associations, Home
was moved even in his student days by that passion for
preaching the Gospel which came to dominate his whole
life. Even in the most crowded years of his later min-
istry he never lost the sense of his vocation as a " watcher
for souls," and in these early days it was with him as a

38 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

veritable " burden of the Lord." Even while he was
yet at Oxford it led him to conduct evangelistic missions

one at Broseley in conjunction with a fellow-student,

the Rev. T. A. Wolfendale, and the other at Crosby,
near Liverpool, in the church of the Rev. T. H. Darlow.
Of this latter Mr. Darlow writes : —

" It was the most beautifully natural thing of the kind
which I ever attended. He preached then just as a bird
sings, and the echoes of his words linger on in many hearts
even now. We were all of one mind about the services.
He lived at my house throughout, and the power of the
meetings grew and deepened in quiet intensity right
through to the close. But I cannot describe the singular
charm of his speech — so artless and simple and penetra-
ting. One man called him ' an inspired boy.' Literally,
the love of Christ constrained him and those who
listened. This is a poor pale reflection of an unforgotten
radiance. It was indeed good to be there."

Home made many friends at Oxford. Chief among
them were W. H. Cozens -Hardy, of New College, and
C. A. V. Magee, of Merton. With these and certain of
his Mansfield fellow-students he lived on terms of the
closest intimacy — held high debate far into the night and
spent glorious hours tramping the country round and on
the river. Among them he was easily primus inter pares,
and their affection and admiration for him knew no
bounds. He enjoyed his life at the university to the
full, and took more than his share in its many-sided
activities. Though he felt the atmosphere of it to be
somewhat alien, and confessed himself at times a stranger
in a strange land, he accepted it all with good-humoured
tolerance, and was quite content to belong to the
minority. He had a healthy scorn for the rather blind
conservatism of some of his contemporaries, and took
immense delight in tilting at the windmills of reaction.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 39

But as time went on, he felt all the fascination of Oxford,
and became one of her most loyal sons. Both a son
and daughter have succeeded him there, and that not
unworthily.

The following letters belong to this period : —

To his Mother

" OXFORD,

" June 6, 1887.

" Oxford has been vying with Glasgow in the matter
of foul and abominable weather. Personally I am
distinctly opposed to the competition, and am quite
willing to give Glasgow the prize without a contest.
We have very nearly had most serious floods on the river,
but the state of the streets has been more serious still,
being extremely detrimental to summer clothes. At
last there seems to have come a change — yesterday was
a beautiful day, but to-day looks by no means settled.
I am feeling thoroughly tired out to-day from the
effects of a very long and tiring day yesterday.
Starting at 9.30, they drove me half-way to Wood-
stock, and I had to walk the remaining four miles
in less than an hour and conduct the service in a
very perspiring state. It is quite a small chapel, and
they heard of me thro' one of the Baptist ministers in
Oxford for whom I took an evening service once. I
stayed with a very pleasant, sensible Scotchman, who was
very kind, and took me a three-mile walk over Blenheim
Park, after the address to the Sunday School in the
afternoon. We had then just time for tea before the
evening service, hot and exhausting, at the close of
which I had to set out and walk my four miles back to
meet my conveyance. Arrived in Oxford, I went
straight to Mansfield rooms to hear Andrew Mearns'
address, and then walked home at half-past ten, and you
will not wonder that I am tired to-day. Andrew
Mearns was splendid : I have never heard Oxford men

40 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

express themselves as so enthusiastically delighted
before. The humour and pathos of his anecdotes and the
genuine common sense of his methods appealed to us
irresistibly, and tired as I was, I would not have missed
it for anything. There was a very large attendance of
men. They had tea at 8.30, and his address began at
9 o'clock. Our first idea was to have him here for a
conference on work in London, but we preferred to hear
him speak, and he is coming again for the Conference
later on.

" I am going to preach in Oxford again on Sunday
evening next, Fairbairn preaching in the morning. My
very kind entertainer at Birmingham wrote to me to-day
inviting me to go over there any Sunday when I should
like to hear Dr. Dale, and enclosing a circular that he
has sent round among his Carr's Lane congregation in
view of the collection for Mansfield on Sunday next.
As I shall probably be preaching at Steel House Lane
in the vacation, I hope to see them and stay with them
then. . . .

" Had a delightful row on Saturday right up the
river to a place called Eynsham. Six of us started, but
one man who was sculling alone upset and had to
trot home.

" My landlady wants to know if I shall come back to
my rooms next term. I am very comfortable, but there
is just this— that Selbie is very anxious for me to lodge
with him, and he is a very fine fellow whom it would be
a great advantage to know more of. Still I am not
anxious to move ; but if you have any choice one way
or the other, let me know in this week's letter. . . ."

To his Father

" O3DTORD,

"June 13, 1887.

I appear to be out of ever so much fun and frivolity
just now. What with picnics to the Wrekin, to Shifnal,

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 41

to Broseley, there must be a great deal of excitement
going on. I am sorry that I shall not see Fred before he
goes, but as we have an exam, to-morrow and an exam,
on Friday, Saturday is the earliest day I can escape, and
I have written to Birmingham to ask for an invitation
for the Sunday. It will be my last chance of hearing
Dr. Dale for a long time. Of course I shall come flying
home on the Monday. On Friday after the Hebrew
exam, we are going to row Dr. and Mrs. Fairbairn and
their two little girls up the river as far as Eynsham. It
will be a Mansfield College Excursion, and we shall have
good fun I expect. We did our first exam, on Saturday
morning in Paleography. I felt it was quite ridiculous
for anyone to go in for an exam, with so absurdly small
a knowledge of the subject as I had. But there is a
certain amount of comfort in the thought that nobody
seemed to do much better. Dr. Sanday is examining,
and has invited us to dinner on Wednesday, after which
he is going to look over the papers. Verily the jam and
the pill are reversed.

" Yesterday morning I preached at Summertown.
It was scorchingly hot walking out there, but we had a
good congregation and a very quiet, nice service. In
the afternoon I went to Dr. Fairbairn' s, and we had after-
noon tea on the lawn, which was pleasant. The evening
service at George Street was, on the whole, good. Dr.
Fairbairn came, but I have ceased to mind him, and he
was very nice at the close. After this I went, in company
with four others, to Bagley Wood to hear the nightingale.
It was a superb evening. The sun had set, and the whole
sky was crimson, fading off into blue and green. The
nightingale we did not hear till we had come some little
distance away ; but then we heard it fairly well. We
got home at a quarter to twelve.

" The river is by far the j oiliest place there is now.
To paddle contentedly up and lie under the trees and
read — philosophy, that is, in the shape of a novel — is a

42

very profitable kind of life. I am going to ask Dr.
Fairbairn on Friday, when we go up the river, if he do
not think that

One impulse from a vernal wood

Can teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,

Than all the sages can.

"The Cricket Match between Surrey and the
University was a great defeat for the Varsity, but a great
treat to those of us who wanted to see some really good
cricket. The way Shuter and Read hit was terrific.
They simply slashed the Oxford bowling to the boundary
over after over. I have never seen such fast scoring ;
indeed, I suppose scoring has very seldom been so
fast.

" The Ruskin Society was photographed on Friday
in Worcester Gardens. I don't know what sort of a
success it will be, but I fancy fairly good.

" Owen Edwards has just been in for his final degree
exam., and has had a hot week of it. Should think he
has done well. They have renewed his scholarship for
him this vac. to enable him to travel, and he is off to
the Continent. ..."

While he was yet a student at Oxford, and had more
than a year of his course to complete, Home was called
to the pastorate of Allen Street Church, Kensington.1 It
is a church famous in the annals of London Congrega-
tionalism. Its foundation dates from the year 1793,
and was the result of religious work done in the Royal
Borough by a Mr. Saunders, " body coachman " to
George III. This led to the formation of a dissenting
interest, and under the leadership of one John Broad-
wood, " a harpsichord maker," the following appeal was

1 A full account of its history will be found in Dr. Stoughton's book
Congregationalism in the Court Suburb, and in Eorne'g centenary
volume, A Century of Christian Service.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 43

addressed to the " friends of Christianity and religious
liberty " in the neighbourhood : —

*' We, the undersigned, having been educated in
the religious principles of Protestant Dissenters, from
motives of Religion and Piety, for conveniency to our-
selves and families, and to others who may be like minded
with us in matters of Religion, being likewise solicited
by many serious, well-disposed Christians, and depending
on the blessing of Divine Providence, with the mild
government of this country, have resolved to erect
a Chapel for the worship of Almighty God in the Parish
of Kensington."

Then followed an appeal for money, of which £2,000
was eventually raised, and the first chapel was built
in Hornton Street. It was opened for public worship
in the following year under licence from the Bishop of
London " pursuant to the Act of Toleration." The
first minister was the Rev. John Neal Lake. He was
followed by as noble a succession of men as any church
was ever privileged to know, viz. John Clayton, John
Leifchild, Robert Vaughan, John Stoughton, Alexander
Raleigh, and Colmer B. Symes. It was under Dr.
Stoughton that the present building in Allen Street was
erected in 1855. The chapel is large and commodious,
but aesthetically little can be said in its favour. It is
dull, stiff, and formal according to the Nonconformist
pattern of the time. But it is what the Americans call
an excellent auditorium, easy for both speaker and
hearers, and with an air of solid comfort about it that
is not without its attraction.

Mr. Colmer Symes resigned the pastorate at Ken-
sington in March 1887. He left the church in a strong
and healthy condition, under the leadership of an
unusually capable body of deacons. Among them were
Thomas Walker, then editor of the Daily News, William

44 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

Holborn, William Winterbotham, Edward Spicer, and
Henry Wright, all well known and honoured names in
Congregational circles. Shortly after the church became
vacant, Home was invited to preach as a ' supply.
He produced so deep an impression that the invitation
was at once repeated, and the thoughts of many began
to turn to him as a possible candidate for the pulpit.
He had aroused the eager interest and enthusiasm of the
younger members of the congregation, while the elders
among them, of whom there were many, found in his
preaching an unexpected maturity and spiritual insight
which greatly inclined them in his favour. Negotiations
were opened up with Dr. Fairbairn, and Home was made
aware of what was going on. He wrote to his father in
November 1887 as follows : —

To his Father

" OXFORD,

" November 11, 1887.

" How I wish it were possible to run down home
to-night and have a right good talk with you about a
matter that has come to disturb the even surface of my
present life, and which is more than skin-deep. The
Dr. has been greatly amazing and bewildering me by a
long chat we have had together, in which he has surprised
me by some very unexpected intelligence. It is in
connection with the Kensington Church — he wants me
to face the fact that I shall have to consider whether
I should be willing to go there. How far matters have
gone I do not know — and he is too astute a diplomatist
to reveal, but they want me to go for two successive
Sundays in January, and I suppose intend to decide
finally then. But the main fact is, so the Dr. says,
that there is a general movement in favour of this, and
the leading men of the Church have written to him to this

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 45

effect. The question, as he puts it to me, is this, ' Will
you offer a resolute resistance to any proposal from the
Kensington Church ? ' I have told the Dr. frankly
what my first feeling is. (1) I do not think it would be a
congenial sphere — not that I do not like the people, for
they were more than kind, but that my sympathies have
always been with the working class of people. His
answer is, ' You must try to do them good.' (2) It is
too big a field and too heavy a soil for so young a steer
to plough — this the Dr. laughed at. He says he told
the Kensington people this, and they said, ' We want
a young man, we have a number of competent people
who will rally round him and take the burden off his
shoulders.'

" I cannot make out what Dr. Fair bairn's opinion is.
He agreed with many of my objections and yet seemed
greatly at times to favour going further with the affair.
I suggested that I should not preach there any more —
and I could agree not to do so with a very light and
relieved soul — but this he is not at all agreeable to. At
the same time he seems to be jealous of my interests,
so far as binding myself as yet is concerned. The
people at Kensington said to me when I was there, sig-
nificantly as I now see, ' We are in no hurry, we can
afford to wait for anyone whom we like.'

" I have told you the whole affair. Of course you will
tell no one else. I would not have any of the Mansfield
men know about it for anything. Think it over, and
talk it over with Mother on Sunday, and write me some
guidance. It is very troubling to have to decide these
things so early. It would be almost better for a fellow
not to preach at all till his last year. I shall look forward
to hearing from you, for the question of engaging myself
for two Sundays in January must be decided soon, and
that may be the first step.

" Meanwhile I must try and brace my nerves to face
the Lyndhurst Road congregation, and pray to be

46 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

delivered from the fear of them and to be filled with the
Spirit."

To his Father

" 6 LADBBOKK TEBEACE, LONDON, W.,

"January 13, 1888.

" I am staying here with Mr. Winterbotham till
Monday, and am looking forward to a thoroughly pleasant
time. The event I dreaded most is over — the interview
with the deacons which was held after last night's
week-night service. The service was an extraordinary
one, the large lecture hall being full from end to end.
Tell Mother I gave them practically my first sermon, * I
am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.' Then came the
ordeal. I felt so young among all those deacons ; but
they were wonderfully kind, and I managed to stammer
out a few sentences of thanks for their unexpected kind-
ness, and then I told them quite frankly the difficulties
that had suggested themselves to my mind, the greatness
of the work, my own inexperience, my need for ampler
leisure for private reading than I was likely to get here, the
long time before I could come for good, and so on. Finally
I asked for a fortnight before a final answer : in that
time I shall see Dr. Fairbairn and Horton, and shall be
better able to make up my mind. Mr. Holborn, for the
deacons, fully acknowledged all the difficulties, but pro-
mised the most cordial help they could give. He thought
I was quite entitled to ask for a fortnight to consider
the question. In order that I might understand fully
all the details, he proceeded to speak on financial subjects.
He said the proposal of the deacons was that if I accepted,
they would wish me to preach twelve Sundays in the year,
and would pay me 100 guineas a year, Mr. White taking
the remainder of the salary. At the completion of my
course I should enter into the full stipend, which ranges
from £600 to £700 a year. Of course one feels this is

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 47

dangerously much for a youngster like myself, but there
is the Church to be considered, and one knows that if
they do not raise this money for the minister they would
very likely not give it at all.

" We have now, I think, the whole scheme fairly before
us ; we can see it in all its aspects. I have already
learned greatly to revere and love some of the people, and
their enthusiasm is of course now a great factor in the
question. Edward White has written agreeing to do
his part if I do mine. Mr. Winterbotham says the oldest
and most cautious of the members have had no doubt,
the younger ones are earnestly enthusiastic. Amazing
as this is, one can only humbly thank God and look to
Him for light. ' We will surround you,' says Mr.
Walker, ' with our affection and our diligence.' Has
anyone, have I least of all, a right to shrink from the
prospect of personal labour and strain when others of
far greater age are willing to step in and share the
burden ? "

Ultimately it was agreed that he should preach on the
two Sundays in January, and that practically settled the
matter. The church enthusiastically called him to the
pastorate, and expressed its willingness to wait for the
next eighteen months in order that their new minister
might complete his college course. It was arranged,
at the same time, that the Rev. Edward White, clarum
et venerabile nomen, who had recently resigned his long
pastorate at Kentish Town, should take charge of the
church meanwhile. It was an excellent arrangement,
and thus secured for Kensington, as was said, the
services of the youngest old man and the oldest young
man in Congregationalism simultaneously. Home
preached once a month during the interregnum, but
otherwise Mr. White took entire charge of the church,
and most loyally prepared the way for the new ministry.
Home writes of him : —

48 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

" On Tuesday morning I went to see Edward White
and have lunch with him. I don't know that I have
ever taken to anyone at once and so heartily as to him.
He is simplicity and kindliness itself, so unselfish and
generous. * I have no future,' he said laughing, ' I am
only an animated past. My only concern can be to
make the whole thing answer.' He will take a house at
Kensington, if the arrangement is so made, and it will
be, he says, a home for me when I am there. I don't
know how to say sufficient of his kindness. He had
intended to retire now and devote himself to writing,
but the call has come to Kensington, and he is willing
to give up his former schemes and resume pastoral
work. * My only fear,' he says, * is lest I should not last
out long enough for you.' "

The formal " call " to Kensington was received early
in January, 1888. It took the rather unusual form of a
pledge to invite Home to the pastorate at the completion
of his college course, and was accompanied by the follow-
ing letter signed by all the deacons : —

" KENSINGTON CHAPEL,

" January 9, 1888.

"To

Mr. Charles Silvester Home, Master of Arts.

" DEAR SIR,

" It is with the greatest pleasure that we, the
Deacons, find ourselves authorized and directed to
approach you, with regard to your acceptance of the
Pastorate of this Church, and to hand you a transcript
of the resolution, to such effect, which was passed at a
special meeting of members held in the Lecture Hall on
Thursday evening last.

' The course has been arrived at after the most serious
and prayerful consideration, which its solemn importance
and momentous issues demand.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 49

" For a long succession of years this Church has
enjoyed the great blessing of a faithful ministry —
exercised by godly and learned men, who have asserted
and enforced the great truths of the Evangelical Faith,
as set forth in the New Testament of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, and we are more than ever
convinced that it is from the clear apprehension, hearty
reception and sincere application of those truths that
the elevation of individual and family life, the efficiency
of the Church, and the regeneration of society are to be
hoped for.

" Desiring to renew and perpetuate the blessing of
such a ministry, and being convinced of your agreement
with us in fundamental belief and principal aims — a
confidence which originated in the testimony of others
and has been confirmed and increased as we have profited
by your preaching — we have agreed as a Church to ask
you to labor among us in the Lord. The importance
we attach to a thorough grounding in biblical study — the
most extensive, profound and fruitful of all studies — and
the advantages we look for from a sound exegetical
theology, have not permitted us to defer to the wishes of
those who, in the desire to profit at once by your labors,
requested us to ask for a curtailment of your career at
Mansfield College. Our proposal, therefore, is that in the
event of your compliance with our wishes, pledges should
be exchanged, between this Church and yourself — the
Church now engaging to give you a legal call to the pas-
torate when your College career is completed — you in
return to accept the same at that period.

" The resolution of the Church will satisfy you as to
the Spirit in which this invitation is made, and the
working details of the proposed arrangement may be
best settled on personal conference. In the meantime
we affectionately and hopefully commend our proposal
to your earnest and prayerful consideration, believing
that in the office to which we invite you, you will find
4

50 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

the association of many loyal and warm hearts of sym-
pathy, to uphold and to encourage you in a sphere of
labor, worthy of the highest gifts and largest acquire-
ments and opportunities of serving our Glorious Master,
not inferior to any that are to be elsewhere met with.
" Yours, dear Mr. Home, very faithfully,

HENRY WRIGHT

THOMAS WALKER

JOHN BUD GEN

ELI PLATER

EDWARD SPICER

THOMAS WILLIAMS

WILLIAM H. WINTERBOTHAM

WILLIAM HOLBORN (Secy.)."

The action of the Kensington church was watched
with deep interest and perhaps some misgiving in
Congregational circles. That a church with its history
and traditions should call a young and untried student
was regarded as, at least, a doubtful experiment. It was
much as though a canonry at Westminster had been
offered to a raw curate. The fact, too, that Home came
from Mansfield did not predispose people in his favour.
Mansfield itself was still in the experimental stage, and
in certain circles in Congregationalism was not looked
upon too hopefully. Nor were the misgivings all on one
side. Home, too, approached the momentous decision
with great fear and trembling. He knew, more than
most, how big was the task that lay before him and how
slender was his equipment for it. But the cordiality
and unanimity of the people made his duty plain, and
that being so, there was no further room for hesitation.
As always, he took the brave and straight line. He
writes in his diary, January 23, 1888 : —

' Wrote, directed, and posted an acceptance of the
call to Kensington. And now one pauses and holds

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 51

one's breath and thinks of what one is committed to,
and hardly dares look the whole thing fully in the face,
but puts one's hand in God's and says, ' My Father, I
will go there — or anywhere — with Thee.' And now to
work and preparation with a new spirit and a new
purpose. Everything will be in a new light henceforth,
and will be judged by the bearing it has on this opening
life of mine. And may the Father of all power, the
Christ of all grace, the Spirit of all inspiration, take my
life and cleanse it and energize it for the fulfilment of the
work that lies ahead."

Home's last year at Oxford was a time of almost
feverish activity — a foretaste of what was to come. He
was naturally divided between the claims of the college
and of Kensington, and he did his best to be just to both.
He had come at one bound into prominence among the
Free Churches, and he was besieged with invitations to
preach all up and down the country. It was thoughtless
and cruel to press him so thus early, but he was not
unwilling, for he loved preaching, and felt that continual
practice would be a good preparation for the Kensington
pulpit. He was delighted with the reception he met
with whenever he visited his future church. The ser-
vices were crowded, especially on Sunday evenings, and
many young men and women came forward with offers
of adherence and help. In April 1888 he conducted an
eight days' mission at Madeley, in Shropshire, with the
help of his friend Wolfendale. It was a crowded and
impressive time. He writes : " A very helpful and useful
feature has been our Bible readings. I think they have
been greatly enjoyed, and I am sure have been richly
beneficial to both Wolfendale and myself. But how
difficult it is to get right at the people." At Oxford he
helped to found a university branch of the London
Missionary Society — the first evidence of that deep
interest in foreign missions which distinguished him

52 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

throughout his life. He also assisted at the inaugurating
of an Oxford University Home Rule League, and writes
with admiration of the speech of Sir Charles Russell.
" Strong, firm, wiry, bullet-headed, he is tremendously
impressive." On another occasion he heard John Morley
at the Union.

" He had, of course, a largely hostile audience, but his
speech was most patiently and even cordially listened
to. He was most skilful in adapting himself to his
audience, and the effect of his speech was evident. I
think him the speaker best worth hearing of any I have
had the fortune to hear. Dr. Fairbairn says he never
felt such a strong sense of an audience being convinced
against its will."

During all this time Home plodded steadily on with
his college work, and read pretty widely beyond the
requirements of the curriculum. He preached fre-
quently in the sermon class, and there and elsewhere was
severely criticized by Dr. Fairbairn both for the form
and matter of his discourses. The good doctor was
afraid that speaking came too easily to him, and advised
him to be more rugged and to cultivate a logical and
argumentative style. Some of his criticism Home
resented almost passionately. Of one sermon he writes
in his diary : —

" As to the manner of delivery he is no doubt right,
but as regards the strictures he makes on the matter of
the sermon I absolutely and totally disagree. Obedience
and reverence for one's Principal does not bind one to
accept all he says as Gospel, and I cannot accept his
criticisms as true or just. It is certainly curious that he
should have pounced on the very sermon that I have
been most thanked for — the one I preached first at Ken-
sington, and that has cost me more than any other I have

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 53

written. Fairbairn advises me to argue out my sub-
jects more. Well, it is not a difficult thing to argue,
but when people come to church to be helped and
encouraged and strengthened amid their troubles and
difficulties, it is a poor thing to put them off by arguing
them into a faith they have never doubted. Argument
is often inhuman. I do not say it has not its place, but
it is perilous to recommend it too much."

The following letters complete the story of his Oxford
days : —

To his Mother

" OXFORD,

" January 16, 1888.

" It is very late, and I am fagged thoroughly, and can
only write a short letter. ... I have had a lot of really
helpful letters, including a very good one from Uncle
More, and yet the decision is hard enough. The reason
is in myself, and the more I have learned of the people,
the more I have got to feel the responsibility. Yesterday
was in many ways a grand day. We had a great congre-
gation in the morning, the chapel being nearer full than
I have seen it before. I preached about Daniel, and
enjoyed the service thoroughly. In the afternoon I gave
away the prizes at the Boys' Sunday School, and gave
an address. There are nearly 700 children in the schools.
In the evening I preached that harvest sermon — with
modifications — and we had a very large congregation.
The final message from the deacons before leaving was
that I was to consider that if I accepted I should be as
free as I liked to relieve myself by occasional exchanges,
especially at the outset, when the strain might be great.
As you say, they have conquered one by kindness.
Have seen Dr. Fairbairn, and had an hour and a half's
good conversation. He does not see how I can decline,
but is opposed to my preaching there oftener than nine

54 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

times a year ; as to this he is going to write to Mr.
Spicer.

" Tell Mr. B. I feel I shall have to turn Conservative
after that gushing paragraph in the St. Stephen's Review
of January 14, which was sent to me by an interested

friend.

" More of the congregation are Mr. Barran, M.P.
for Leeds, and his family ; Sir Risdon Bennett, son of
old Dr. Bennett, the minister ; Miss Moffat, daughter of
Dr. Moffat, and a very fine lady ; Mr. Hubbard, director
of the G.W.R. and late President of the London Mission-
ary Society. ..."

To his Father

" 188 CROMWELL ROAD, LONDON,
" January 9, 1888.

" You will probably be anxious to know how things
turned out yesterday here, and so I may as well fill up a
spare half hour with recording the same. I reached here
about six o'clock, and had a very kindly welcome from
the Spicers. They were all exceedingly vexed about the
paragraph in the Christian World,1 and it is an evidence
of their kindly thoughtfulness that they directed Mr.
Walker to write to me so as to put me at ease. Sunday
morning came, and I felt more troubled about the service
than I have done since Carr's Lane. Mr. Holborn did
not improve matters for me by asking to shake hands
with me ' in a new capacity,' for he said, whatever might
be the result, nothing could alter the fact that I was their
chosen minister. [Note by his Father. Mr. Holborn
has since given £100 to Mansfield College as ' a thank-
offering.'] There was a large congregation : doubtless
' the curious ' were there in force. I was very uncom-
fortable during the early part of the service, missed out
part of the Lord's Prayer, and forgot the notices, and
1 Containing a premature disclosure of the plans for Kensington.

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 55

other eccentricities. But it wore off, and I fancy I
preached as well as I have ever done in my life. After
the service a gentleman came up to speak to me who
was one of the grandest looking men I have ever seen,
not in face only, but in figure as well. He spoke very
kindly, and afterwards I was told it was Dr. Reynolds
of Cheshunt. I am glad to have seen him, and glad, too,
that I did not know he was there. Another minister
who came to speak to me was Edward H. Jones, the
Secretary of the Missionary Board or something. I had
a quiet afternoon and a walk with Mr. Spicer, and then
came the evening service. There was again a very large
congregation, and we had a good time. As soon as it
was over who should come hurrying into the vestry,
the very picture of personified energy, but Mr. Edward
White himself. He was tremendously jolly and full of
spirits, though terribly down on the paragraph in the
Christian World and Nonconformist. Of course, it greatly
offended many of his friends at Kentish Town that he
had told them nothing about it, and he had to ask his
Church to remain behind yesterday morning that he
might tell them how it was."

To his Mother

" OXFOBD,

" February 13, 1888.

" Please thank Father very much for his splendidly
long letter and all his suggestions. The ' Board of
Elders ' suggestion is really good, and I wish it could be
adopted. We shall be able, perhaps, to talk it over later
on and see how the feeling of the people is. Then I shall
certainly feel the responsibility to lay out part of the
salary on special Church work. Of course, one naturally
thinks of Mission work, of which there is almost or quite
none done at present by the Allen Street people. Thus
there is no opening in this direction for the energies

56 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

of the younger people of the Church. Now there are
districts adjoining Kensington that apparently are in
special need of Missionary effort, noticeably Fulham.
Of course I have not as yet had the opportunity of really
examining the ground for a possible mission, but am sure
we ought to have one. Now it is comforting to reflect
that one would be able to support such a work if neces-
sary out of one's own pocket, and certainly I shall feel
compelled to do as much as I can in this way. Here is
another question. I used to say in innocent, unsus-
pecting days that no minister ought to have a salary of
over £400 : the surplus he ought to devote to helping
weak Churches. Does it strike you as possible to help
weak Churches to the extent of £100 a year ? You see,
if, as Father half suggests, one were to forgo part of
the salary, the chances are one would only be relieving
those who are quite able to pay, and who might not give
the same amount in other directions. This would be
perilous, and I fancy the better way will be to endeavour
to cultivate a very high sense of one's stewardship and
the claims of the poorer brethren on the rich. So much
for Father's letter. I do hope that as from time to time
fresh suggestions strike him he will find time to send them
me. This eighteen months should be a splendid time for
forming and maturing plans, facing the questions that
will arise, and so on. I enclose an interesting letter from
Mr. White about proposed alterations in the Kensington
service. Have written thanking him much for his
willingness to undertake the reform. I am, however,
doubtful as to the General Thanksgiving — whether it
will not develop 500 ' Praying Mills ' instead of one. But
am willing to try the experiment. I have just returned
from my visit to Stepney— a most interesting one in
every way. It was, of course, delightful to stay with
Leonard. He now luxuriates in entrancing apartments,
fares sumptuously every day, breathes the perfumed
atmosphere of the aristocracy, dines late, and is evi-

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 57

dently in diligent training for Kensington. Here I, too,
enjoyed the couch of comfort. But I had to rise early on
Sunday morning to get to Stepney in time. You may
have imagined, as I did, that Stepney Meeting House
would be a poor sort of building, harmonizing with its
surroundings. Instead of this, it is one of the handsomest
places in the denomination, with a very fine spire,
splendid organ, carved wooden pulpit, and handsome
circular stained glass window. It seats 1,300 people,
and is a very impressive-looking edifice, both inside and
out. Its classrooms and vestries are most complete.
It has also two or three spacious halls and an admirable
Sunday School. To the Chapel also belongs a row of
well-endowed alms-houses. The morning congregation
is unfortunately small and eminently respectable. The
evening large and very varied. The singing is poor,
but the people listen admirably, and I have never
preached to a congregation that seemed more intelligent
at catching every point. . . ."

To his Mother

" KENSINGTON,

" September 24, 1888.

". . . It is a great pleasure to think that you now know
something of the place I am working at and the kind of
congregation, and also something of the character of our
leading people. We have had a most encouraging time
since you were with us. Last Thursday night our Lecture
Room was absolutely full, a most inspiring sight. Yes-
terday we had very capital congregations, the great
multitude of strangers being a noticeable feature. For
the morning I had rewritten a very old sermon on
' Blessed are the poor in spirit,' and in the evening I
preached on the Rev. Version text, * We love, because He
first loved us. Not merely love to God, but all our love
is because He first loved.' Both services seemed very

58 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

impressive. Next Sunday evening is the Workmen's
Lecture on John Bunyan and his influence on English
Life. This makes me very busy, as of course there is
another morning sermon and a week-night address as
well.

To his Father

" KENSINGTON,

" October I, 1888.

" I enter on my last week's work here with sincere
regret. It has been so happy, so encouraging, that I
could wish it twice as long. The experience, too, has
been most helpful and the kindness of the people beyond
all expression. On Thursday the Lecture Room was full
and the whole service of the heartiest. I spoke on the
imprisonment of the soul, and am sure we had a good
time. Yesterday morning we had a large congregation.
People are coming back. The Raleighs were there in
force, and the Holborns, and our large Ladies' school
filled up considerable territory downstairs. I preached
on ' Show us the Father and it sufficeth us,' referring
specially to Robert Elsmere and the general demand of
outward evidence in our time and neglect of the inward.
In the evening came the Workmen's Lecture on John
Bunyan. What a congregation ! Every part of the place
full except the very back of the back gallery. I felt
very dissatisfied with the lecture. Bunyan is so great
a character, and I found the subject much too large for
half an hour. But the people seemed thoroughly inter-
ested, and the place was very still throughout, which is
a good sign. A great many people stopped to thank
me, so there is hope good may be done. I am told we
have had lately a number of people who never go to
a place of worship. And it is very interesting to find
that old Voice Producer, whom you saw at Newport, a
friend of Mr. Williams of Wistanswick, who I was told

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 59

was * a Socialist and not religious? came on Thursday
and comes regularly on Sunday.

" Now as to other news. . . . On Thursday I went to
Dr. Parker's noon-day service, and enjoyed it more than
I have ever enjoyed Dr. Parker before. * The spiritual
man is mad ' was his startling text. George Fox was
mad. To-day the Quakers are most respectable (mouthed
out in Parker's best manner). There is not a mad Friend
left in the globe, and ' so they are dying out."

To his Mother

" OXFOBD,

" October 23, 1888.

"... I have promised to lecture to the Kensington
Young Men's Guild on ' Poetry ' on December 19. I am
also to read a paper on Bunyan at the Milton, introduce
a motion at the Union on Education, and speak on
Thursday in favour of Disestablishment. Then on Sun-
day I preach in Oxford morning and evening. This is
a fairly full programme for the coming weeks. . . . Did
I tell you I was going to preach at Streatham Hill on
Sunday ? I got there late on Saturday evening, and
stayed with Mr. J. D. They were wonderfully kind
people, and I enjoyed greatly staying with them. On
Sunday friends came from near and far. ... I think
the deacons were above a bit amused when all these in
stately procession crowded into the vestry and fought
over my body for afternoon tea. . . . The C.s came in
and conducted me back to Streatham Hill, where we
had a very good evening service. I do hope Dr. Fair-
bairn will stick to his resolution now not to let me
preach again this term after next Sunday. He was
much tempted to give way to-day to an urgent telegram
from Westminster Chapel, but I am safe so far. . . .
All sorts of friends are sending me the Star /"

60 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

To his Mother

" OXFORD,

" November 5, 1888.

"... To-night I have to give a lecture on Bunyan to
the Milton Club. Yesterday I had a delegate to see me
from a place called Winslow, near Bletchley. He wants
me to give a lecture there on behalf of Mansfield at the
end of term. As it may be got in before I go to Kensing-
ton, I shall probably lecture on Bunyan for them. There
would naturally be a week between the end of term
and my going to Kensington, and if Fred was at home
I should come straight down. . . .

" I think I must send you the Undergraduate, with an
amusing account of the Disestablishment debate. It is
rather too bad of them to attack my only French quota-
tion. But I will bear it with fortitude.

" Two more men have come from Airedale to Mans-
field. This makes our number about twenty-five. One
is a man named Jowett, who was reported to be the great
preacher of the North, and who has already accepted
an invitation to succeed Mr. Batchelor at Newcastle.
He comes to us for one year only. The other is Martin
of St. John's, Cambridge, friend of the Whibleys, who is
to lodge next door to me. Meanwhile the building goes
on apace, and is pronounced on all hands an exquisite
piece of work. The roof is now on nearly all of it, and
they have got most of the floors down inside. There was
a letter in last week's Noncon. suggesting that New
College, London, with all its endowments, should be
removed to Oxford and amalgamated with Mansfield.
Dr. Fairbairn is very pleased the proposal has been made,
and hopes it will be earnestly discussed.

" Last night in our rooms the Dr. gave his lecture on
the Person of Christ— I don't know that I have ever
known him more impressive. One passage we shall
never forget. He described Plato and Christ, the one

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 61

inheriting all the glories of Greece, intellectual, artistic,
and so on, and then, in contrast, the Carpenter's Son,
and asked which was the most likely to command the
cultured and civilized world of future ages and to be
pronounced the Son of God. And then, in a wonderful
conclusion, he said : ' We believe God made man, delights
to bless man. The greatest blessings come through Christ.
If, then, God had more Christs to give, would He not
have given ? Are we not forced to believe that He gave
but one because there was but one to give — that as there
was but one God so there was but one Son of God and
Saviour of Mankind.' It was exceedingly fine. . . ."

To his Mother

" OXPOHD,

" November 26, 1888.

"... I have just come away from seeing the Varsity
play the Preston North End team. The latter won, but
only by three to one, which we claim as a ' moral victory.'
The Varsity had distinctly the best of the match during
the second half, and played most brilliantly. The Pres-
ton men are a superb team, but too ' dodgy,' pass too
much — so frequently from man to man that they lose
the ball just when they are getting up to the goal.

" I have had a very busy week preparing for Ken-
sington. Have now got one sermon ready, and nearly
finished my lecture. Did I tell you we are to have
exams, at the end of this term ? Consequently there
will be no time then to prepare sermons. Prof. Massie's
exam, comes the day before I go up to town. I am
to dine at Mrs. M.'s on the Friday before preaching !
Mr. White writes to me that they are going on quite
peaceably and happily, so I suppose the choir revolu-
tion has been quietly effected. . . .

" At the Milton Club last Monday we had a glorious
debate on Socialism. On the whole it was the best

62 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

sustained debate I have ever heard at a University
society. Selbie made a violent attack on Democracy,
which drew me into a fierce duel, and round our devoted
figures the warfare raged vehemently. The Union,
curiously enough, took up the same subject on Thursday,
but the debate there was not very lively.

" I have seen a good deal lately of young Magee. He
is a very good-hearted fellow and impressable. Talks
infinitely : revels in phrases of all sorts, and is often
gloriously inaccurate and inconsistent. On the whole
he is very good fun, and so absolutely good-natured that
one can talk quite plainly with him. Cozens -Hardy
and he are great friends. Bishop Boyd Carpenter
preached at the Varsity Church last night to a packed
congregation. He was delightfully unconventional as
usual, but not so impressive or striking as I have usually
known him to be.

" To my sorrow Fairbairn has promised I shall preach
at Great George Street, Liverpool, on January 6. I did
want to be home all my non-Kensington Sundays this
time : but it cannot be. . . ."

To his Father

" OXFORD,

" December 3, 1888.

" Leonard has just left me and returned with Wardlaw
Thompson to London. We have had a very lively and
busy time together. He came up early on Saturday
morning, and we lunched at Cozens-Hardy's rooms with
Selbie and Macfadyen. Hardy, Leonard, and I then
went out for a walk, and picking Magee up on the way,
carried this episcopal light over Mansfield. We thor-
oughly explored the buildings, and then got home round
to Selbie's for tea— Bartlet being there as well. In the
evening we went to hear Professor Stuart speak at the
Corn Exchange. It was a glorious speech, on points in

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 68

the Irish question that are not often discussed. The
working-men there seemed to see all his points, he was so
admirably clear. Mr. Cobb, the member for the Rugby
Division of Warwickshire, also spoke — a rare old Radical,
who made the people shriek with laughter. Cubbon
and Martin came in to cocoa in my rooms, and then we
were glad to get to bed. Hardy and Norman Smith
came in to breakfast, and then the latter carried L.
away to George Street to hear Dr. Fairbairn, and I
trudged off to Summertown to exhort the heathen there.
After dinner we sallied forth for a long walk round
Christ Church and Magdalen, ending at the Dr.'s after-
noon at home, where I had a nice chat with Wardlaw
Thompson, and the Dr. exhorted L. on many points
of his duty to man and God. Then Norman Smith
carried us off to tea at his home, where we met a certain
Mr. Jones l — typical Welsh patriot and Nationalist, who
is really one of the most wonderful men in Oxford.
Leonard was much impressed. Then off to Wardlaw
Thompson's meeting at our Mansfield Rooms, a good
and very impressive meeting. Then home and cocoa
and bed. Not bad for two days, was it ? "

To his Father

" OXFOBD,

" February 11, 1889.

" Oxford moves ! Such ' carryings-on,' as Mrs. Gamp
would say, have never been known in this festive
Varsity before. Behold the Oxford Union — ancestral
home of privilege and Toryism — pledging itself to Sunday
closing of Public Houses. Yet this verily happened on
Thursday. Who should lead the way but Magee, and
under episcopal patronage the rest of us ventured forth.
Murray 2 — fellow of New College — a grand man in every
way, seconded ; Roberts of Balliol, logical, radical, a bit
of a sceptic and pronounced anti-Sabbatarian, follows,

1 The late Wm. Jones, M.P. a Professor Gilbert Murray.

64 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

and then thy servant. The result was 31-31, and the
Chairman votes for us. All Oxford is talking about the
Vandalism of the Union.

Not a sound was heard, not a funeral note,
As the corpse of old Privilege was buried,

Not a Tory discharged a farewell shot,
But they went away horribly flurried.

And on Thursday I am going to move that all Education
should be National and Unsectarian. There will be
infinite row. If you have still got Dr. Crosskey's
pamphlet you might send it.

" I went up to London on Saturday to preach for Mr.
Rowland. I was safely deposited at Mr. Bedells'. The
Bedells are wonderfully nice people, full of work and zeal,
and throwing energy into all sorts of good movements.
There were some Australian people passing the evening
with them, Knotts by name, from Sydney. Mr. Knott is
one of the great Sydney Congregationalists. On Sunday
morning we had an enormous congregation. As Horton
and Gibbon were both away in the morning, I profited,
and certainly think it was the largest audience I have
ever had.

To his Father

" OXFORD,

"March 3, 1889.

" I have been expecting to hear all about the arrange-
ments of the new paper, but expect you have all been
too busy to write. I think the first number augurs well.
It seems to me more interesting than the old. . . . But
there is so much to tell you about this week that I will
launch forth at once. Our Church Meeting last Monday
night was a splendid success. The tea began at 6.30,
and of course I stood the usual siege of kind friends.
All seemed to be in the best of spirits and full of hope
and enthusiasm. At 7.30 we threw open the folding

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 65

doors between the two schoolrooms, and the people
streamed in. The platform was a perfect bower of
splendid flowers and shrubs, and the whole decorations
were very effective. Mr. White, back from Mill Hill,
was full of life and grace. First came a speech by Mr.
Spicer as to Mr. White's kindness in working there
for the past year. I had no idea Mr. Spicer could speak
so well. Mr. Holborn followed with the financial
report. The amount raised was about £3,560, some-
what less than last year, but interregnums do not prosper.
Over £800 was for the Missionary Society and over
£400 for the Church Aid. Mr. White appealed for more
systematic giving by all. He said he had made a dis-
covery that a penny a day came to £l 105. 5d., and
he thought this sum should be put on the back of our
pennies instead of the figure of a half-naked being
sitting on a wet rock holding a pitchfork. Mr. Budgen
and Mr. Hubbard made very lively and interesting
speeches, and then I wound up with a pronouncedly pro-
gressive speech. I scored off the Upper Clapton people
and their gown by telling the story and adding that they
seemed to think it would be a security against youthful
heresies to envelop a man in a robe which had been simply
saturated with orthodox theological sentiment for almost
forty years. This amused Mr. White tremendously. An
addition in the form of a hope that they would be content
to see more of me and less of the gown was applauded
vociferously.

" The next important event was a visit by Professor
Elmslie. He came with Dr. Monro Gibson and others
to interview Fairbairn on the subject of a Presbyterian
College at Cambridge. He stayed over Friday night
and spoke at our seminar. He was simply glorious. I
can't tell you what an impression his calm, manly,
courageous statement of the new position arrived at by
Old Testament critics made on us. He just showed us
how many real beauties of interpretation the old idea
5

66 OXFORD AND KENSINGTON

missed. He said a wonderful thing in speaking of the
horrors recounted in the Old Testament as done at the
bidding of Jehovah. God had to take men as they were.
There was no use in sending down Revelation ' in lumps '
—He had to work it all out from within and through
human means. He had thus to work often in and
through very imperfect men ' and run the risk of
compromising Himself.' He had * to be numbered with
the transgressors? Then followed a wonderful illustration.
* You may be all Tories,' said Elmslie, and we laughed
aloud. Well, supposing Mr. Parnell had seen that
the party of outrage and violence would only be driven
to be more violent by fierce attack and had mingled
with them and * run the risk of compromising himself '
that he might lift them by degrees to nobler aims and
loftier methods — supposing history to reveal that this
has been so, then that would be something like it ! It
was in the Dr.'s study, but we brought the house down.

" The New York Herald wrote the other day pressing
me to send them the outline of a recent sermon. I
don't know whether it was the right thing to do, but
I have sent one, and suppose it will appear soon.

' The Oxford men have been acting Julius Ccesar.
Alma Tadema designed the scenery, and the Roman
dresses have been carefully studied. I went with
Cubbon last night. It is very pretty, but much too
long, and the acting is of course very ' amateur.'
It was interesting to hear my old favourites ' Mark
Antony's speech ' and the ' Brutus and Cassius ' scene
suggestive of ' breakings-up ' and Mutual Improvement
Societies. ..."

Of his various teachers at Oxford the two men to
whom Home owed most were Dr. Fairbairn and Dr.
Hatch. For Fairbairn he had a boundless admiration,
and was particularly attracted by the freshness of his
Christian apologetic on the one hand and of his treatment

OXFORD AND KENSINGTON 67

of the Person of Christ on the other. But he was equally
sure of his debt to Hatch, whose lectures on early
Christian history and on the growth of church institu-
tions were to him as to others an almost epoch-making
experience.

Before Home settled down at Kensington Dr.
Fairbairn arranged for him to travel round the world as
companion to a young friend of his, Mr. Gerald Willans,
of Leeds. He brought back from it a store of health
and of new experiences which stood him in good stead
at the beginning of his life's work.

CHAPTER III

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

HORNE was ordained to the ministry at Kensington on
October 17, 1889. The Rev. Edward White presided
at a crowded and impressive service which followed
the course usual in Congregational churches. A
statement on behalf of the church was made by one of
the deacons, Mr. Sully. The new minister then took
up his parable, described the steps by which he had
reached that position, and made a declaration of his
faith. He claimed a young man's privilege to reserve
judgment on some things, and he refused to believe that
the realities of the Kingdom of God could be reduced to a
set of propositions and definitions. " To him the divinity
of Christ determined all his knowledge of God and his
hopes for man. Take Christ and His Gospel from the
world, and what could they know of God." " So His
divinity determined His atonement. Alike its efficacy
and its justification depended on the fact that it was God
Himself who toiled and agonized for men, that divine
love suffered with them in all their struggles and shared
all thek burdens." He believed it was their most solemn
duty to bring the faith and spirit of Jesus Christ to bear
upon every phase of their national life, to apply it
fearlessly and relentlessly in insisting on the necessity
for righteousness. The charge to the minister was de-
livered by Dr. Fairbairn, who spoke in his usual graphic
and ample way of the high solemnity of the ministerial
calling and of the great qualities of mind and spirit
needed for its effectual fulfilment. The ordination

68

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 69

prayer was offered by Dr. R. F. Horton, and the service
closed with the blessing invoked on minister and people
by the Venerable Dr. Stoughton. On the following Sun-
day morning Dr. Dale gave the charge to the congregation
and " preached the minister in." It was a noble and
eloquent discourse on " the congregation helping the
minister," from the text 2 Cor. i. 11 : " Ye also helping
together on our behalf by your supplication : that for the
gift bestowed upon us by means of many thanks may
be given by many persons on our behalf." l Home
preached in the evening — his first sermon as minister of
the church. Thus began a most fruitful and memorable
ministry. As has been indicated, it was in many ways
a great experiment, but there was never any real doubt
as to its success. It is probably a defect of the
Congregational church system that a young man should
be pitchforked into the full responsibility for a large
church straight from college and without any previous
experience as a curate or assistant. That it was success-
ful in this case speaks volumes for the quality both of
the man and of the church, and especially for the wisdom
and loyalty of the deacons. Home was fortunate in
his advisers. He had the gift of attracting and keeping
the willing service of men and women much older than
himself. This was the more marked because his work
at Kensington was particularly successful among the
young. The evening services on Sundays were thronged
with young folk of both sexes from the great business
houses in the neighbourhood. Home laid himself out
to help them, not only by his preaching, but in more
direct and practical ways. He started guilds both for
young men and women, which did excellent educational
and social work for their members. For more directly
religious purposes a Young Members Union was formed,
by means of which workers were trained for the Sunday
school and for the Olaf Street Mission which Home had

1 The sermon is published in the volume Fellowship with Chrift.

70 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

founded. For this work he held regular preparation
classes, and it proved a most fruitful agency for service,
besides building up many young men and women in the
Christian faith. Another very useful scheme which
Home set on foot was the Children's Guild. He was
never so happy as when among the children. From the
first he made a practice of giving a short children's
address in the morning service. Of these addresses the
older children were encouraged to take notes, and once
a quarter the minister met all the children of the
congregation, talked over their notes with them, and
then joined them in tea and games. The children were
also taught to work for the poorer children of the church
missions, and to provide help and entertainment for
them in various ways. As time went on, the relations
between minister and children became of the closest
and most affectionate kind, and no words can tell the
good that was thus accomplished. It may be noted
that the first secretary of the guild was Miss Katharine
Cozens-Hardy — the minister's future wife.

From the first Home put all his strength into his
preaching. The Sunday congregations grew rapidly,
and he felt keenly the responsibility which this involved.
In the mornings his preaching was of a more pastoral
kind suited to the needs of the regular attendants at
the church. In the evenings, when the congregation
was larger and more mixed, and contained a large
proportion of young people, he was accustomed to
give courses of lectures on evangelistic and apologetic
topics, many of which found their way into print.
His frank open-mindedness, his earnest manner, and the
persuasiveness of his speech made these evening dis-
courses very attractive and effective in winning many
thoughtful young men and women to a fuller Christian
consecration.

At the beginning of his work in Kensington Dr.
Fairbairn, with his usual fatherly consideration for his

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 71

students, wrote to Home advising him strongly to
concentrate on the work of his church, and to decline
to be drawn hither and thither by outside engagements.
Home was willing enough to take this advice. He
acknowledged its wisdom, and honestly tried to carry it
out. But circumstances were too strong for him. The
church was, indeed, always his first consideration, and
he gave it of his best. But he was constitutionally
incapable of limiting his witness to a single channel, and
his eager enthusiasm found vent for itself in the care
of all the churches, in an aggressive evangelism, and a
persistent Free Church propaganda. Even at this early
stage in his career he had not a few warnings to the effect
that his physical powers were limited. But his brave
spirit was impatient of bodily restraints, and although
he was willing to take all reasonable precautions, he could
not spare himself when there was a real call for service.
He settled in London at a time when there was great need
for the kind of witness that he was best able to give.
The fervour and freshness of his preaching and his
passionate advocacy of Free Church principles made him
a welcome guest at anniversaries and other special
occasions, and he found it very hard to resist calls for
help, particularly from those churches in country places
where his testimony was most needed, and which he was
always ready to help without fee or reward. His diary
and letters give abundant evidence of the zest and
buoyancy with which he threw himself into work of
this kind, and it must be allowed that no man was
ever better fitted for it. From his Oxford days onwards
Home kept an intermittent diary, in which he recorded
with some intimacy his impressions of events and
persons. There are many tantalizing gaps in it, but it
enables us to see something of his inner mind, and,
along with his letters, which are often very frank and
revealing, affords a real key to his development.
In the spring of 1891 Home made his first appearance

72 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

in connection with official Congregationalism by reading
the Chairman's address for his friend and deacon Thomas
Walker to the London Congregational Union. Mr.
Walker had a very weak voice, and his minister was glad
to be the mouthpiece of one to whom he owed much,
and whom he greatly admired and loved. He writes :
" The reading of Mr. Walker's address was a great
pleasure to me, and it was received with the enthusiasm
the address deserved. Mr. Walker prefaced it by saying
that the audience might take it that all that was good
in the address was due to my influence ! The fact is, that
if I share the views of the address, I have derived them
from his influence." The debt that he thus acknow-
ledges to Mr. Walker was a very real one. The old
man put all his wealth of experience at the service of his
young minister, and supported him in his work with the
utmost loyalty and goodwill. From the older ministers
of the denomination in London Home received the
greatest kindness and sympathy. Early in his time
at Kensington he was elected a member of the " Frater-
nal " — a company of ministers who met for breakfast,
followed by religious discussion, once a month. Among
the members when he joined it were Joshua Harrison,
Edward White, Newman Hall, Andrew Reed, William
Roberts, Monro Gibson, F. B. Meyer, R. M. Thornton,
Robert Dawson, G. D. Macgregor, Colmer Symes, and
R. F. Horton. He writes of it : "I don't believe there
is a franker and freer discussion of theological problems
possible anywhere. We are now discussing Genesis, and
it is marvellously interesting owing to the wide divergence
of views. Horton and I are practically alone in defence
of the very modern criticism, but we are all at one in
our estimate of the spiritual truths of the revelation."
Among the younger men in the London churches Home
at once took the lead. Like many others of them, he
was conscious of a certain dullness and stagnation in the
religious life and activities of the Congregational churches.

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 73

A generation of great preachers was just passing away,
and had left behind it a feeling of intellectual pride
and self-satisfaction that did not make either for spiritual
depth or theological progress. Nor were the churches
making any great advance in social service or missionary
and evangelistic effort. Home was nothing if not
progressive, and soon gathered round him a band of
younger men like-minded. In conjunction with the
Rev. T. H. Darlow, he called a number of them together
at the May meetings of 1891. " There is undoubtedly
a new spirit abroad," he wrote. " The times demand
not only a new construction of thought, but a new con-
struction of method. Indeed, the latter is the corollary
of the former. If the older men will not recognize the
present crisis, we must do what we can to save Congre-
gationalism from those who would destroy its true
flexibility." The meeting was a great success. It met
a felt need. Adjourned to the autumn meetings of the
union at Southport, it led eventually to a permanent
association of some of the younger London ministers
for the ends they had in view. Of this more in its
place. In Home's opinion it was " the beginning of
a great new movement for the vitalizing of our de-
nomination."

That process had already been stimulated by the
meetings of the first International Congregational
Council, which were held in London in the summer of
1891, under the presidency of Dr. Dale. Home attended
these, and wrote his impressions of them to more than
one newspaper. He welcomed the wider outlook and
keener social consciousness of some of the American
and Imperial delegates, but he noted that the British
churches easily held their own in spiritual intensity and
theological breadth. About the same time he wrote
a series of articles in the Independent under the title
" What the Churches ought to do," in which he pleaded
eloquently for a greater elasticity of method, a more

74 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

practical application of Christianity to life, and a drastic
reform in worship. He concluded —

" It is the new temper and the new spirit that we
want. It is the spirit that rejoices in the introduction
into our services of any and every element that is truly
living. It is the crucifixion of that contemptible spirit
that sits glum and defiant— a caricature of Protestantism
—if prayer is offered in a way that differs from the
custom of our forefathers. It is the spirit that is ever
supremely solicitous for the reaching and saving of the
unreached and unsaved. It is not the spirit that thinks
the church exists that a certain number of regular and
respectable seat-holders may save their souls. It is the
spirit that recognizes that the church exists to save the
souls of others. Our churches will move forward when
this sovereign principle of their responsibility to those
without is thoroughly understood and illustrated, when
all thought of self and personal prejudice and preference
melts away before the holy fire of a passionate love for
those that are lost. As this is realized, there will indeed
be a * Forward Movement,' and not till then."

These words were really prophetic. The meetings
of the Congregational Union held at Southport in the
autumn of that year proved a landmark in the spiritual
history of the churches there represented. They marked
a real step forward in missionary service, and a renewal
of interest in Christian union and in evangelistic work.
Home's part in them was confined to a rousing address
on Free Church principles, which showed him to be a
platform speaker of the first quality, and revealed him
to many as a new power in Congregationalism. The
result of the meetings as a whole was a great encourage-
ment to the younger men, and determined them in the
new course to which they were already pledged. Very
much that has happened in the Congregational churches

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 75

since that time may be dated from the new impulse
then given. Home wrote of the meetings : —

" October 21. — The Congregational Union has met
at Southport, and I have made my first speech before it.
The Cambridge Hall was crammed from floor to ceiling.
It was an awful time. I trembled like an aspen leaf
until I really began to speak. Then the power came.
The Independent says my speech took the assembly by
storm. But gush is not Gospel. However, the audience
was most kind, and the result is encouraging. Still,
somehow I do not fancy that platform speaking is much
in my line. But the future will show. The great event
of the Southport meetings was the election of Dr.
Mackennal unanimously, and with splendid enthusiasm,
as secretary. ... So ended a memorable battle.
Another remarkable feature of the Union session was
the missionary enthusiasm. This is almost new in the
Congregational Union. It seems to me to be a product
of the new proposal to send out 100 more missionaries.
Although the L.M.S. is in debt, the proposal has awakened
already a remarkable response. Lavington Hart, science
fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, and his brother have
offered themselves for service and been accepted. All
this contributed to create the sense of hope and prayer
that marked the great assembly of the Wednesday."

In August, 1892, Home married. His bride was Miss
Katharine M. Cozens-Hardy, elder daughter of Mr.
Herbert Cozens-Hardy, K.C.,1 one of his most loyal
supporters at Allen Street. The occasion of the wedding
was made something like a family festival by the whole
church, and the young couple began their new life
together amid the most cordial demonstrations of
affection and regard. Their first home was at Campden
Hill Gardens, and it speedily became a most attractive
centre of happy fellowship for a wide circle of friends.

1 Afterwards Lord Cozens-Hardy of Letheringsett.

76 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

In the course of time seven children were born, and as the
family grew up its father seemed to remain the youngest
member of it. Home was never so happy as when with
his children. He made himself one with them, and was
never too busy to take the keenest interest in their work

and play.

In the autumn of 1892 a serious difficulty arose in
Allen Street Church over the proposal to elect to the
diaconate a member of the Society of Friends. Home
was much disturbed over it, because some of his best
friends in the church took a very different view from his
own. The following is his own account of the matter : —

" We have been suddenly precipitated as a Church
into one of the most curious and at the same time serious
crises that it is possible to conceive. The history of
Congregationalism is no doubt often chequered, but the
chapter that could be written concerning our experiences
of last week would be a most remarkable one. To me
it has been a most painful incident, and the difficulty
is by no means settled. Let me set down the facts.
Last Thursday we held a special Church meeting for the
nomination of our new deacons. The meeting was most
harmonious and encouraging. Someone at the back — a
Mr. . . . — nominated Mr. Gibb.1 I explained to the meeting
that Mr. Gibb was a Quaker, and not being a member
was ineligible, to my deep regret. The incident had
passed when one of the deacons . . . rose and proposed
that Mr. Gibb should be sounded as to his willingness
to join us and serve us in this capacity. He pointed out
that the sole basis of our Church was faith in Christ, and
that we had no authority to require any doctrine of the
Sacraments. The Church generally signified its approval :
none of the other deacons said a word, and I undertook
to approach Mr. Gibb and ascertain what his feelings
were. But at the conclusion of the meeting Mr. . . .

1 The late Mr. James Qibb, M.P. for Harrow at one time.

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 77

came to me and said that if Mr. Gibb was to offer himself
to the diaconate and be elected, holding views hostile
to the Communion, he must resign his office as deacon.
Other deacons felt equally strongly. The next day I
received a most painful letter from Mr. . . . While full
of kindly references to myself, he deplored the action
of the Church, and wrote in the most touching way of
the horror with which he personally viewed a proposal
to have a body of non-communicating members in the
Church. The situation grew further strained by a
vehement letter from Mr. . . . standing boldly by his
position and asserting that if this Church is free to admit
those who may regard the Communion superstitiously,
and yet is not free to admit those who emphasize only
its spiritual significance, he must reconsider his position
as an officer of the Church. Was ever a young pastor
so distracted ? That here in this nineteenth century a
Congregational Church should be in danger of splitting
through sacramental theories — this is surely a most
serious thing. The question may have been prematurely
raised, but after all, it is a question that must be faced.
What is the constitution of a Congregational Church ?
Is it, as I have declared it to be again and again, accept-
ance of Christ as Saviour and His commands as our law
of life ? If so, must we go on and define His commands,
especially on such a disputable point as the Com-
munion ? Have we warrant so to limit the basis ? My
reason says No. On the other hand, my feelings incline
me to lay stress on the ancient usages and practices of
the people called ' Independents.' And it is a delicate
question how far our modern spirit of perfect catholicity
may be allowed to invade the sanctity of these estab-
lished customs of the Church. So the matter stands,
pending Mr. . . .'s reply to my letter approaching him
on the subject. And until this letter is received, one
can hardly hazard a guess as to what the issue of the
whole business is likely to be. ...

78 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

" Dr. Dale wrote me a very long and interesting letter,
which I was enabled to lay before the principal people
concerned, and the result has been a certain postponement
if not settlement of the difficulty. Mr. . . . declined
to stand, and so we have elected our new deacons without
including his name. Still one feels the difficulty may
reappear at any moment."

1893 was a very busy year. It saw the publication of
a Manual of Church Fellowship which Home wrote
in collaboration with the Rev. William Pierce, then
minister of Tollington Park Church. It was intended
mainly for the young people of the Baptist and Congre-
gational churches, and as it supplied a felt want, was for
a time widely used in both denominations. Home
wrote of it in his diary : —

" Such a book is greatly needed. It aims at expressing
in a concise form the leading points that should be borne
in mind by those desirous of joining a Congregational
Church. As we intend it for use in both Baptist and
Congregational Churches, we are stating the principles
of both denominations in the Appendix. To my lot it
fell to define the principles of the Baptists. I visited
Dr. Clifford, but could not get from him any manual that
contained a statement of their view of Baptism. I wrote
to Dr. Angus, but received nothing more definite from
him. My own Baptist deacons did not agree concerning
it. Some thought it was an admission into the Church ;
some that it had nothing to do with the Church, but
was simply an individual act. So I am left to try and
make some principles for this degenerate denomination."

The same year was marked by the celebration in
London and throughout the country of the tercentenary
of the Congregational martyrs, Barrowe, Greenwood, and
Penry. Into this function Home threw himself heart
and soul. It was a welcome opportunity of appealing

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 79

to the enthusiasm of the younger men and women of the
Free Churches, and to that strain of heroism in them
which he believed always existed and only needed the
occasion to bring it forth. The celebration was inau-
gurated by a great public demonstration in Hyde Park,
which was followed up by meetings in all parts of the
country. At many of these Home spoke. His theme
was always the same. He took his hearers back to
" the hole of the pit from which they were digged," and
tried to show them the eternal worth and power of the
faith and enthusiasm which distinguished the early
Congregationalists. His own spirit kindled at the story
he had to tell, and he could hardly fail to inspire others.
He spread the light, too, with the pen as well as by the
spoken word. A number of pamphlets were written on
the early history of the Separatists, and Home was
responsible for one on " The Separatists at the Univer-
sities." It was a simple and straightforward account
of the work of men like Barrowe and Greenwood, with a
view to showing that the early Congregationalists were
not " unlearned and ignorant men," but abreast of the
best thought of the time, and confirmed in the position
they took up by their own independent and scholarly
reading of the New Testament. This tract, along with
others, had a very large circulation, and did not a little
to educate young Free Churchmen in their own history.
Perhaps for this reason it was savagely attacked in the
Church Times, and along with another by Dr. Adeney on
'* The Church in the Prisons," held up to scorn as an
ignorant, partizan, and presumptuous reading of history.
Home defended himself with vigour, and with the help
of Dr. Adeney, very successfully vindicated their position.
No impartial witness could doubt that the Church Times
had the worst of the encounter. Home made no pre-
tence to be an exact scholar, but he had the knowledge
which enabled him to use the work of others intelligently,
and the literary skill to give a true picture of events and

80 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

persons in a readable and popular way. At any rate,
his attempt in this direction bore excellent fruit in
interesting him in the subject and in preparing the way
for his admirable Popular History of the Free Churches,
of which more in its place. In connection with the
tercentenary Home wrote an open letter : —

" To the Young Men of the London Congregational
Churches

" MY BROTHERS,

" I am moved to write you a simple message
partly because, as the Apostle John said, ' you are strong,
and the Word of God abideth in you,' and partly because
the blood of the Martyrs of our Churches is in your
veins ; and I believe the faith of the Martyrs is in your
hearts.

" You are strong ; and yet I hardly think you know
how strong you are. ' If it die,' said Christ of the grain
of wheat, ' it bringeth forth much fruit.' Fruitfulness
depends not simply on strength of life, but on willingness
to sacrifice life, to give it up, yea even, if God will, to the
death, for the sake of the world. The blood of the Mar-
tyrs is the seed of the Church. Truth lives as men are
ready to live and die for truth. You are strong, zealous,
faithful to-day ; but the last evidence of faithfulness is
being demanded of us all. ' Let us also go, that we may
die with Him.'

" No spectator who saw Barrowe and Greenwood led
out to die, in the grey of that April morning in 1593,
and heard them pray for their enemies at the foot of the
gallows-tree, could ever believe again that Christianity
was played out. The Lord Jesus Christ gave them the
victory. The best way for us to-day to silence His
critics is not to argue about the question, but to do
what these Martyrs did— suffer for Him and His truth.
They died for the supreme authority of Christ in His
Church, and for the great Brotherhood of Christian

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 81

people. Our witness to-day is to the same truths.
Christ is King, and all we are brethren.

" Many of you are 'strong ' in the sense that you have
had a superior education ; you have read history, and
science, and literature ; your tastes are cultured, refined ;
and you enjoy retirement and the quiet of the fireside,
and improving your own minds. But there are greater
claims on you than these. Barrowe, Greenwood, and
Penry were all University men, full of refinement, well
read according to the standard of their time. But these
things did not make them fathers of liberty and truth —
nay, but they loved the truth and they became its ser-
vants, and through contumely, imprisonment, and death
they were faithful to it ; and all generations of English-
men will be their debtors.

" They died in London. Here, where all the forces
of the age seem to meet ; here, where the heart of the
world is, whence proceed the impulses that set in motion
the world's vital machinery in every continent. They
delivered their witness where yours has to be delivered.
Some of the ends for which they died have been attained,
but not all, and not the greatest — Christ is not King
yet, and this principle of Brotherhood is not yet the law
of Society. There must be more Martyrs (for the
Martyr is the man who bears his witness at any cost),
and England will look for them in the ranks where they
were found before, the ranks of the Independents. Are
we prepared ?

" We of the Congregational order are to be asked to
assemble, I believe, as we have never in all our history
assembled before, on April the 8th, almost the very day
of the Martyrdom of Barrowe and Greenwood, in Hyde
Park, near the spot where they suffered death. Saturday
has been fixed instead of Thursday, so that we may all
be able to go.

4 ' It is to be no mere commemoration service, though
it is that of course. But we shall gather, as Armies
6

82 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

gather on the morning of a new Campaign, to join hands
and hearts in prayer and dedication. And now I write
to you because the young men's place is ' at the war ' ;
you are the front — the place of danger and honour is
yours. We mean, by the help of God, under the leader-
ship of Christ, to make His Will the Law and the Life
of London.

" What will you do ?

" Will you undertake in your various Districts to
organize yourselves into battalions, and to obtain
promises from all whom you can influence, both men and
women, to come to the Park on the afternoon of the 8th
of April next, and show that you are on the side of Truth
and Freedom still ? I venture to believe that if it is
put to you fairly, you will not only do it, but do it in
such a way as will abundantly demonstrate that the
spirit of our fathers is strong in you. ' Wherever the
Independent has planted his foot, he has prevailed,' says
Dr. Fairbairn. Our traditions are all of victory.

" When our Churches truly awake, there is such stuff
in them as will make itself felt in London and throughout
this Kingdom. We shall hail a brighter day. In token
of this, our resolve, let us assemble on the 8th of April
from every quarter of this great Metropolis and testify
to our determination to be worthy and loyal descendants
of the Martyrs of 1593, and to help onward the com-
pletion of the work which they so nobly and valiantly
endeavoured.

" Believe me,

"Yours very sincerely,

"C. SILVESTER HORNE.

" KENSINGTON,

"March, 1893."

This work coincided with the celebration of the cen-
tenary of Kensington Chapel, in connection with which
Home wrote a memorial volume under the title A Cen-

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 83

tury of Christian Service, giving a simple and vivid
account of the establishment of the church and of the
work of his predecessors in the ministry. Of the cen-
tenary meetings in the church he writes : —

" Dr. Dale preached the Centenary sermon to a con-
gregation that packed the Chapel in every corner. On
the Monday night we had a glorious public meeting, in
the course of which we presented an address to old Dr.
Stoughton, commemorative of the jubilee of his connec-
tion with the church. Edward White, Dr. Fairbairn,
Prof. Bryce, and Hugh Price Hughes also took part, and
on all hands the meeting is confessed to have been worthy
of so historic an occasion."

In the spring of this year Home's brother Leonard
married, and shortly afterwards removed from Kensing-
ton to Highgate. Home felt the loss of his brother's help
in the church acutely. Up to the time of his own mar-
riage he and Leonard had lived together, and he had had
in his brother a most active church worker and loyal
supporter. With his departure he felt that " a great
deal of the joy of Kensington" was lost. But he was
finding compensations. A daughter had been born to
him, and from this time forward his diary is full of refer-
ences to his delight in his home life and in his wife and
children. As, for example : " I must just record the
wonderful joy and interest that little Dorothy is to us.
Now that she has discovered that she possesses the gift
of tongues and has begun to frame all kinds of pretty
and curious sounds, she is every day more delightful.
The wonder of a little child is beyond all fathoming."
This same year, 1893, saw the commencement of two
literary tasks, in both of which Home took the keenest
delight. One was the writing of a novel, A Modern
Heretic, which was published anonymously a year later,
and the other a popular history of the London Mis-

84 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

sionary Society, to be issued in the centenary year of
the society, 1895. How Home found time to do such
work, and to do it so well, is something of a mystery.
He was as busy as ever in his church, was increasingly
in demand outside, and yet he was able to read widely,
and to prepare himself thoroughly for the tasks he took
in hand. At the same time, he was absorbed in politics —
the Home Rule controversy being then at its height —
and was leading his church in a great social experiment
by the establishment of a mission in Netting Dale. Yet
amid all these preoccupations he never lost sight of his
main interest, the preaching of the Christian Gospel and
the presentation of the truth as it is in Jesus to the minds
of men. At the close of 1894 he writes in his diary
thus : —

" The year is closing : and to me it has been a good
and beautiful year — and not, I trust, an altogether use-
less one. Would that, in looking back, one could have
an accurate stock-taking and note with some exactness
what growth there has been in faith and character.
' Let a man examine himself ' : Paul, who knew all
the dangers of ultra- introspection, gives this as whole-
some counsel for us. In regard to faith I think the
great gain of the year to me has been in far truer percep-
tion of the majesty of Paul's view of predestination.
The marvellous way in which science rehabilitated this
great doctrine just at the time when the Calvinist
extremists had made the religious world most impatient
of it was very wonderful. It now becomes clear and
forcible to me that unless we firmly grasp the truth that
God has appointed for us a destiny in Christ, and that to
that destiny we were foreordained from all eternity,
life becomes purposeless, and is liable to be treated as if
it were a mere chapter of accidents. I find great
personal satisfaction and help in considering the uni-
formity of natural law, and how gently and surely God

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 85

makes His presence felt : not by irregularities and
violent departures from His appointed methods ; but
by a steadfast order of things, on which we can always
depend.

" Another article of faith which has been more to me
than it used to be is that Christ is the Truth, and we are
to live in Him ; in the Truth. ' We are in Him who is
true.' I do not yet clearly grasp the significance of this :
only the distinction between merely true things, truisms
of life, and Truth, which is not only eternally true but
eternally vital, has become of great moment to me. */
am the Truth? says Christ : not I speak the Truth, nor
act the Truth ; but I am the Truth : as if the Truth
and the Life were essentially one, and the Life of Christ
was the soul and substance of Truth.

" I cannot honestly set down any great advance in
character ; only I think I love people more — whether
I love God more thus is a harder question to answer.
I often think Mrs. Browning's ' Confessions ' might be
mine :

' I saw God sitting above me : but I, I sat among men,
And I have loved these.'

Possibly, just as we enter into fellowship with God
through the Son of man, we still come to love God better
by loving man better : and especially as we love those
who are not naturally lovable. For it is a strange and
true thing, that by learning to love the unlovely we grow
in the love of the altogether lovely."

And again : —

"Possibly the work in Kensington has not been so
vividly coloured as an unripe experience pictured it
five years ago ; but the faith in the future, and especially
in God's control of it, is all the deeper to-day. The error
in one's own conception of God's ways has been exposed,

86 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

but gently, patiently as He doeth all things. The
clearer light has meant new trust.

" I think God leads us first of all out of false estimates
of Christian success. He will not allow us long to
confound prosperity with popularity. He does not
measure the work done by the number of sittings let
or members added to the roll, but by patience, fortitude,
magnanimity, charity produced in those whose lives
are influenced. Thus the best fruit of all ministries
is not to be seen and counted like so many grapes upon
the vine. It is an underground growth, visible only to
the eye of Him who seeth in secret. Upon His ministers
in all fields God imposes the discipline of faith. Under
such conditions of work a minister is constrained to self-
examination. He has to be very honest and candid with
himself as to the spirit of his ministry. The fruit of his
work on others depends on the fruit of God's work on
him. He can look with absolute certainty to great
results if he is confident that, amid all imperfections,
faith and love and truth have marked his ministry. He
does not, then, ask to see much of the outward signs. He
is content to know they will not be lacking where they
are needed most in the stress and strain of common life.
He walks less by sight and more by faith. Thus I
think it is given to you and me in our ministries to serve
and to endure as seeing Him who is invisible. What-
ever changes the years to come may bring, they can
bring none that will suffice to interrupt or invalidate a
ministry which is thus hid with Christ in God."

The autumn of 1894 saw the publication of a volume
of sermons to young men and women, entitled The Vital
Virtues. Home thought this his best work so far, and
records in his diary his " candid judgment " that if he
had any special gift it was that of analysing character.
Certainly these sermons show a good deal of shrewd
observation and sound judgment, as well as deep religious

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 87

feeling. This same autumn saw Home plunged into a
hotly contested School Board election. It was marked
by a miserable religious controversy caused by an
attempt on the part of certain High Churchmen, led
by Mr. Athelstan Riley, to coerce the teachers by circular
into giving definite dogmatic instruction. The Non-
conformists were at once up in arms in defence of simple
Bible instruction, and easily won the day. But the
bitterness of the fight remained.

The meetings of the Congregational Union in October
of this year were held in Liverpool, and were marked by
the opening celebrations of the centenary of the London
Missionary Society. Home was one of the speakers at a
great assembly in the Philharmonic Hall. He writes
of it :—

" I had only twenty minutes, and had condensed and
condensed ; and the speech gained, I think, greatly in
force, and was a success. If only one had time to con-
dense as a general rule. I have come to the conclusion
that — to be quite frank — I do not speak well extem-
poraneously. It is only after laboured and elaborate
preparation that I really speak with satisfaction to
myself and others. Such a discovery necessarily
saddles one's ministry with a burden of work from which
' the easily victorious few ' who ' seem not to compete
or strive ' are delivered. But one must not quarrel
with one's destiny."

Home was always very critical of his own efforts,
and his standard was a high one. But it may be
questioned whether he was quite fair to his powers of
extempore speech. He could sometimes be brilliantly
eloquent, even when he had had little or no opportunity
for preparation, and about his most carefully prepared
sermons and speeches there was an ease and spon-
taneity which concealed all traces of the labour spent

88 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

upon them. How great that labour was no one knew
but himself. At his sermons in particular he toiled
unceasingly, counting no pains too great to be spent
in preparation for the pulpit. He wrote once : —

" To the Rev. Justin Evans

" It has always been my great sorrow that I am so
indifferent a preacher, and it has been my one com-
manding ambition to be a good one. I shall never be in
the first rank of preachers. But if I can help people,
and lift them just a little, it is to taste in measure the
joy which our really great preachers have in such over-
whelming degree."

Early in 1895 Home paid a visit to Glasgow and
preached before the university.

" The ordeal was considerable," he writes. " The
procession behind the mace, side by side with the vener-
able Principal and followed by the Professors, was not
a very pleasing preparation. Neither was the necessity
of being gowned and hooded altogether a happy one.
But ' where law abounded grace did abound ' too, and on
the whole I enjoyed myself, and had some gratifying
thanks from Caird and Lord Kelvin at the close. At
night I had 4,000 people in St. Andrew's Hall, and thor-
oughly rejoiced in the environment."

The following is a fuller account of the visit : —

" March 1895.— Several friends have asked me to set
down a few simple details about my visit to my dear
old university of Glasgow and the service in the Bute
Hall, as the chapel is called. The Bute Hall is used for
all university functions, such as the conferring of degrees
and the weekly university service. Any ceremonial
on a weekday is sure to be made lively and relieved from

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 89

undue solemnity by numerous facetious interpolations
and the shouting of time-honoured, not to say ante-
diluvian, jokes dear to the undergraduate mind. But on
Sunday all is different. There have been occasions
when the undergraduates in question have applauded
some emphatic opinion of a reverend orator, as when they
broke into decisive demonstrations of approval of an
appeal by Dr. Dale for the Hospitals. No doubt,
however, these were medical students — we put down
everything rowdy in Glasgow to the 'medicals.' The
service is now usually characterized by the utmost
propriety.

" I have been asked whether the scene in the chapel
on Sunday is not picturesque. I can only say it depends
on the point of view. If you are looking at someone else
in an exalted position, you may appreciate the pic-
turesqueness more than you can if you are conscious that
you yourself are the object of curiosity. However,
let me begin at the beginning. The preacher for the day
is shown into an ante-room over which run the words
" University Court." He finds a long table, on which
are set out the various gowns and hoods of the professors.
He himself is handed over to the genial, well-preserved
old janitor Mr. Macpherson, who promptly arrays him in
gown and hood. He has only time to speculate sadly
as to his appearance, and indulge in thankful reflections
that no Kensingtonian is near at hand to see, when the
Principal enters.

" Now if it were possible for me to express the vener-
ation which all Glasgow men without exception feel for
Principal Caird, this letter would not be written in vain.
For many years now Principal Caird has been recognized
in Scotland as probably the first pulpit orator of this
generation. In any plebiscite as to the greatest preacher
in Scotland, Caird would stand first, the rest nowhere.
His brother, Edward Caird, has recently become better
known to fame in England by reason of his appoint-

90 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

ment as Professor Jowett's successor at Oxford. But
in Scotland John Caird has a unique place in the affec-
tions of the people. Generous-minded and large-hearted,
he throws open the University pulpit to preachers
of every denomination, and nothing could be more
beautiful than his marked courtesy to the young. If
any of you have tried to read his book on the philo-
sophy of religion, you have probably concluded that one
who could write such a book must be a most severely
intellectual person. Such an impression might be
deepened by a sight of Caird's massive head with the
grey — now nearly white — hair, and the dignified manner.
But speak to him privately, and nothing could exceed
the quiet modesty and simplicity and kindliness of his
manner.

" While we have been talking about the Principal,
other professors have been arriving, prominent among
them being Lord Kelvin. It would be superfluous to
describe the President of the Royal Society, for he is
well known everywhere. His somewhat long beard is
distinctly greyer than when I used to be a very unprom-
ising pupil of his. He is, of course, still lame, but his limp
has its old energy, and he looks as if he intended to go
on discovering to the end of the chapter, as no doubt
he does.

" When Principal Caird retires, he is expected to be
his successor. But now the bell is ringing, and the hour
of service has come. The beadle — most dignified he in
all the procession — shoulders the mace. The Principal
beckons, and we fall in immediately behind that symbol
of academic distinction. The Professors follow two by
two, and thus we ascend the staircase leading to the
chapel. The organ begins, the congregation rises, and
at a funeral pace we try to carry ourselves with an air
of tolerable ease as we walk from one end of the hall to
the other. The effort is not successful. Then the
Professors divide and occupy the stalls on either side of

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 91

the pulpit, while the Principal and the Preacher for the
day sit together at the reading-desk below the rostrum.

" The Principal, in his deep and still rich voice, con-
ducts the devotional service, most of the prayers being
taken apparently from the prayer-book of the Church
of Scotland. This part of the service over, the beadle
again beckons, the Preacher descends from the reading-
desk, and, personally conducted by the officer in question,
ascends the spiral stairs into the lofty pulpit from whence
he is expected to preach.

" The sermon over, the procession reforms ; the organ-
ist plays his concluding voluntary, and the gowns and
hoods are laid aside with infinite relief, at all events on the
part of one participator in the afternoon's proceedings."

At this period, also, he spent a good deal of time tour-
ing about the country in the interests of the London
Missionary Society. Wherever he went he had great
meetings, and the candour and fervour of his missionary
appeals produced a deep impression. He was never so
happy as when speaking on this topic, and both by
tongue and pen he contributed greatly to the success
of the centenary movement. Home missions, too, were
very near his heart, and on one of his flying visits to
Manchester Home pleaded the cause of the Mansfield
House Settlement in Canning Town with Mrs. Rylands,
an old member of Kensington Church, and a most loyal
friend. He introduced Percy Alden, the warden, to her,
and they obtained a most generous donation towards
the building of the new residence.

In March 1895 Dr. Dale died. Home felt the loss
acutely, and unburdened himself in his diary : —

" Dr. Dale has passed away ; and seldom has the
Church Catholic mourned more genuinely and universally
over the grave of anyone. My own indebtedness to
Dale is of course inestimable. Owing to my father

92 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

having been a fellow-student at Spring Hill, stories, often
repeated, made him one of the heroes of my boyish days.
Most vividly I can recall my first introduction to him.
It was at West Bromwich. Dale had been reopening
one of our churches there, and the congregation was
immense. I had been taken over by my brother-in-law,
Mr. Hall, and was armed with a letter from my father.
As the congregation was dispersing we made our way
to the vestry. The deacons were at their best. The
visit of the renowned minister had led them to magnify
their office. In their exalted state of mind, a boy in his
teens intruding himself on the notice of the great Dale
was unseemly and preposterous. I myself was nervous
and excited and sensitive. But withal, my eagerness
to speak to the Doctor and to be able to say that I had
really shaken hands with him triumphed over all my
fears. The frowning array of officials— probably far
kinder than to my childish eyes they seemed — could not
discourage me, nor their curt questions drive me from
my purpose. I had my way. The vestry door opened,
and I went in. Dr. Dale was sitting with one leg across
the corner of the table : I can see him now. To some
he may have seemed unattractive, and he would certainly
shut up or stave off the presumptuous or the rude. To
me he seemed then and ever after a large-hearted and
fatherly man. He read my letter, and at once was full
of tender interest. My father had, I suppose, hinted at
my inclination towards the ministry. ' My lad,' said
Dale, looking kindly down at me, ' remember our tempta-
tion is not as a rule money.' Then he pointed through
the open door to the church, where the crowds of people
were still slowly struggling down the aisles ; ' that is
our temptation,' he said. Boy as I was, I felt instinc-
tively what he meant : and a curious surprise came over
me that he should feel the snares of popularity so keenly.
Often since then have I recalled the strong kind face,
the great burly man sitting across the table, the crowded

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 93

vestry — for there were numbers of friends waiting to
speak— and the resonant tones, so serious, even though
accompanied by a smile, ' that is our temptation.'
That he should say ' our ' and so associate a lad in his
teens with himself in the fulness of his popularity was
not lost on me then, and has remained a very gracious
memory.

" I could go on writing reminiscences recalling almost
or quite every occasion of meeting him. For he was one
of those rare men who, at every encounter, however
frequent, gave you something to remember. It was an
experience to see him in his study. When the door was
opened you were conscious of a mephitic atmosphere.
Clouds of smoke had emanated and were still emanating
from a point above the writing-table. Your eyes had
to grow accustomed to see in smoke, as Gilmour says
he had to in the Mongolian tents. Presently you dis-
cerned a large form with the dark face and bushy beard
looming out of the cloud. This used to suggest to me
David's vision of Saul in the tent, as Browning painted
him. Finally a cheery voice was heard, a great grip of
the hand brought you to yourself, and you coughed out
your enquiries after his health. When I entered his
study on the day of the funeral, it seemed to me that for
the first time I saw the walls. It is impossible to conceive
how strange the room looked in smokeless desolation.
It was there that again and again we sat and talked. It
was there that I first learned how deep was his interest
in my own work. He was very much concerned, he
told me, when I first went to Kensington, fearing that
my views might change so considerably, when I came
face to face with the practical working aspect of things,
that I should feel uncomfortable myself and probably
make others feel the same. He was wont to recommend
books. ' Read Dorner ' — that was to me the sum of his
theological counsel. ' Read Dorner — I am more and
more amazed at Dorner.' Westcott he used to speak

94 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

very appreciatively of: and they had a good deal of
correspondence, Westcott frequently confessing indebted-
ness to Dale's writings."

In May of this year came the first premonitions of
failing health. The pace had for some time been alto-
gether too fast. Home had what he calls " a very nasty
nervous breakdown," which compelled him to rest and to
take things very quietly for a time. " I must be content
to rest on my oars and only give an indolent tug or two
occasionally." In the summer he had a two months'
holiday spent in Norway with Mr. J. G. Fordham, and
afterwards at Letheringsett, in Norfolk. While there
he bought a plot of land at Sheringham, on the cliffs just
outside the town, where his father-in-law built a house —
The Bluff — which served them as a holiday resort for
many years to come. His constitution soon responded
to the rest cure, and his letters from Norway were written
in the highest spirits, and reflect in every line his
unstinted enjoyment of mountain and sea.

'' We visited the North Cape, experienced tropical
heat in the Arctic circle, and grew weary of the midnight
sun — it really should not keep such shamefully late hours
—and then returning, buried ourselves for a week in a
charming little village called Os. Here we saw no
English people, but fished to our hearts' content and
prospered. Then home to England, I making tracks
for Norfolk, Katharine, and baby. Oh, but all the charms
of Norway do not compensate for the absence of dearer
charms, and it was like returning to Paradise must be
to angels who have been visiting fair spots on earth.
The Norfolk holiday was entirely lovely. It was delight-
ful to see so much of my father-in-law, to enjoy long
walks and talk with him. He is never in happier vein
than when in the country, and in Norfolk for choice.
His love of all country things and scenes is so fresh and

THE MINISTRY AT' KENSINGTON 95

keen. Often we had been discussing some profound
political problem, or the merits of this or that ecclesias-
tical system, when at the note of a nuthatch, or the tap,
tap of a woodpecker, he would become suddenly alive
with an eagerness he had not displayed before. The pro-
cesses of Nature, the habits of all animals, are to him of
never- wearying interest, and he would sit for hours at
the door of the summer-house on the lawn just to watch
the swallows feeding their young."

The next item in his diary is on a very different theme,
and bears witness to the intensity of his interest in things
political and to the strength of his opinions in regard to
them : —

" During my absence in Norway, England witnessed
the greatest political revolution of the century. The
Liberal majority of 40 was turned into a Conservative
(or Coalition) majority of 150 ! I am so glad I had no
finger in this mess, and shall always be able to say I was
well out of it ! Of course excuses good, bad, and indif-
ferent are not wanting, and explanations are endless.
Some say it was the Local Veto cry, some the Disestab-
lishment proposals, some the Labour Party, some the
dissensions among the Irish, some Mr. Gladstone's
retirement, some Lord Rosebery's racing proclivities. It
seems probable that all these things told against us ; and,
truth to tell, we had no general proposals to lay before
the electors for which they manifested any enthusiasm.
It comes to this — too many programmes, and too little
programme ; a number of Bills acceptable to certain
sections, but no general legislative proposals for the
benefit of all. Such proposals must surely concern the
land, with which is bound up the Tithe, and consequently
the Church question. I feel more and more convinced
that the Liberal Party must make up its mind on
this question, and if it has not got a mind to make up,

96 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

then it must get one, or else consent to inanition and
decay."

Immediately on his return from his holiday Home
plunged into the preparation for a mission in connection
with his church to be conducted by his friend Dr.Horton.
Through all his labours he never lost his evangelistic
interest and spirit. He felt that it was well from time
to time to try and reap some fruit of his regular ministry
by a special appeal, and at the same time to attempt to
draw in those whom the ordinary services of the church
did not effectively reach. He believed, too, that this could
be best done through another voice than his own ; but
he regarded it as his special duty to prepare the way of
the missioner and to see to it, as far as possible, that the
church should be in the right spirit to receive the message.
He held meetings and conferences with this end in view,
and in none of his work was the fervour, intensity, and
sanity of his spirit more manifest. The mission was
a great and striking success, and when it was all over he
wrote : —

" Robert Horton has just concluded an eight days'
mission here. We engaged the Town Hall for the week-
nights, and on the Sundays made use of the Chapel. To
help in the singing we had some of the most famous
London singers as soloists— Miss Clara Butt, Mrs. Mary
Davies, Miss Evangeline Florence, Mr. Daniel Price —
all by conviction or extraction Congregationalists, and
all voluntarily serving in the good cause in the most
cheerful and cordial way. The result was wonderful.
The Town Hall was packed, and the Chapel also crowded
to excess. Horton was at his best, so admirably lucid,
persuasive, spiritual. There was nothing hysterical,
nothing extravagant: all was quiet, thoughtful, and
yet fervent. The impression produced must be indelible.
There was a stillness that could be felt ; and the after-

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 97

meetings were strangely searching, and full of an indes-
cribable power. My wife and I greatly rejoiced at having
Horton with us in our home for these eight days. The
more one sees of him the more one is charmed by his
character, and the ' sweetness and light ' of all his
thoughts and ways. I know no more genuine repre-
sentative of the ' saint ' as medievalism conceived
him ; yet there is this to boot, a singular candour and
openness of mind which has been the secret of the abuse
to which he has so freely been subjected in consequence
of his ' advanced ' views. . . ."

The opening of the year 1896 found Home at the
height of his influence, but still showing signs of heavy
strain involved in his manifold labours. His work at
Kensington was becoming more and more fruitful. The
membership of the church was now over 500, and of these
310 had joined during his ministry. He was appealing
to a continually wider audience, as witness the growing
demand for his printed sermons. Early in the year he
published another volume, The Life thai, is Easy, and some
Tracts for the Times, on The Spirit of Dives, The Sobriety
of Hope, and In Praise of Optimism. He also began
another novel, which never saw the light. Of the first-
mentioned book he writes : —

" I have just been correcting the proofs of a little
book entitled The Life that is Easy which Mr. Allenson
is on the point of publishing for me. This is none
other than the book written originally for the R.T.S.,
and which, after circulating round their Committee for
eighteen months or more, was eventually returned to me
as unsuitable for publication. I relegated it to an old
chest where many old MSS. sleep, and there it reposed
beyond the reach of criticism for another year ; and, it
is to be hoped, soothed its injured feelings. Allenson
heard of this rejected MS., and pressed me to allow
7

98 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

him to print it. At last I gave way so far as to read
it over again. I was agreeably disappointed with it on
the whole. Much that is in it needs, I think, to be said.
So I rewrote portions, composed a Preface which hinted
at the reception the book experienced at the hands of the
R.T.S., and now here it is about to see the light as an
eighteenpenny book."

In March he had another breakdown in health due
to overstrain, and was ordered by the doctors a year's
entire cessation from public work. He felt that it was
not fair to ask his church for so long a holiday, and that he
had no alternative but " to sit down and write my resig-
nation. Of course the wrench implied is an infinitely
distressing one. It is impossible to contemplate it
without acute pain. There is no love like the first love ;
and there is a peculiar attachment between the church
and myself which renders separation an agony. Never-
theless, the thing had to be done, and it has been done,
and now I must await the issue."

The issue was that the church would have none of it.
His people were willing to give him all the rest he needed,
and to wait, if necessary, indefinitely till his health
should be restored. They asked him, with every expres-
sion of their sympathy and goodwill, to withdraw his
resignation and take a full year's furlough, and they
agreed to carry on meanwhile. Home could do nothing
but consent, especially as Dr. McClure, of Mill Hill, was
willing to supervise the church during his absence— an
arrangement which greatly relieved his mind. He left
London for Norfolk at once, from whence he wrote to his
father : —

" LETHEBINOSETT HAXL,

"April 4, 1896.

' With this letter I shall enclose the resolution passed,
I believe, at a very crowded and representative Church
meeting last Wednesday, and carried with all unanimity

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 99

and cordiality. Indeed, Mr. Salter says that there was no
jarring note of any kind ; and all the references to my-
self seem to have been full of love and kindly feeling.
This is, of course, very cheering and grateful ; and the
arrangement that has been made will bring relief from
much anxiety. You cannot think what a number of
overwhelmingly touching letters I have received from
all sorts and conditions of people. It makes me feel
very rich, though it accentuates the sorrow of being
separated from them for so long. Some people want
to give me a long voyage in their ships ; some to take
me off to the Continent ; and indeed the generous
offers of all sorts of help have been quite overpowering.
Meanwhile, we are glad to be quite quiet here and to
think things over a little. Mr. Cozens-Hardy is such a
resource ; so sensible and sympathetic. I feel more and
more anxious that you should bring Mother down to
see this beautiful spot some time or other. We have
a free hand to invite our friends ! ..."

After about a month at Letheringsett, where "bicycling
and vegetarianism, combined with fresh air and an out-
of-door life," made a good beginning of his cure, Home
arid his wife joined the ever hospitable Mrs. Ry lands
in a holiday in Switzerland and the Italian lakes. His
diary gives a summary of their doings for the next three
months : —

" The succeeding three months were spent in travelling
amid scenes of varied loveliness and circumstances of
the rarest comfort, not to say luxury. We journeyed by
way of Calais and Basle to Berne, and then began our
driving tour, visiting Thun and Interlaken, Grindelwald
and Murren ; then on by Brienz and the Brunig to
Lucerne. Here we saw Leonard and Mary for a few
hours, and visited many points on the lake. Then we
drove to Axenfels and to Goeschenen, from whence,

100 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

as the St. Gothard pass was not yet open, we took train
to Lugano. At the latter place we stayed a long time ;
too long, we thought, as the weather was very close
and hot. Nevertheless, it was a centre from which we
explored Como, Maggiore, Milan, Varese, and other places.
When we set out from Lugano northwards, we drove
to San Bernardino by way of Bellinzona, and from San
Bernardino to Spliigen and Thusis and Dissentis ; then
by the Lukmanier pass, making our way to Airolo ;
thence over the St. Gothard to Hospenthal. Here we
rested a few days, and then resumed by way of the Furka
and the Rhone Glacier, driving over the Grimsel,
and finally down the Rhone Valley to Brieg, where we
parted with our carriage and five. Taking train to
Martigny, we crossed the Tete Noire the next day, and
descended to Chamonix. Here, amid the tremendous
scenery of the Mont Blanc range, we spent nine days ;
and then drove to Cluses, took train to Geneva en route
for Paris. At Paris we had one or two delightful days,
and then were not sorry to return to England, and
especially to the bairns, who had meanwhile gone
to Newport for a visit. The trip was immensely helpful
to me physically, and everybody congratulates me on my
improved appearance. It was, of course, fruitful beyond
telling of ideas, suggestions, experiences. I feel as if
I should never lack for illustrations again, so rich a
fund has accumulated during these months. ... As
for our hostess, Mrs. Rylands, she was all to us that a
mother could be ; full of eagerness to make everything
helpful and interesting. We conceived a real affection
for her, and even the prospect of reunion with the
children did not make it easy to say good-bye to
her."

This trip was followed by a further stay in Norfolk, and
then early in 1897 Home started off again for a tour in
the Mediterranean along with his brother Fred, who

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 101

was also in need of rest and a change. After his return
he wrote in his diary : —

" Meanwhile let me record that Fred and I have had a
jaunt together up the Mediterranean, have looked in
on Jerusalem, meandered round Jericho, and wandered
on asses in desert places in search of Pyramids. Fred
had a nasty attack of lung mischief : and as it was
assumed that I should be all the better for a final tramp
abroad before resuming work, we took each other off
to the south. We had an excellent voyage out in the
Creole Prince, sailing from Manchester down the Canal,
a maudling sort of a start ! Among the interesting
people on board was Mr. Eden Philpotts, literary editor
of Black and White, and a considerable author. We
became very thick, and he has been to hear me preach
since my return. He is a first-rate fellow, and I hope
to see much of him.

" It would take a series of diaries to record all
my impressions of the Mediterranean — Tunis, Malta,
Alexandria, Jaffa, Sidon, Jerusalem, Cairo, and so forth.
I have written a good many articles about the trip in
the Christian World. And oh, the home-sickness, after
we turned our prows definitely Englandwards ! And
oh the fogs off the Spanish coast and in the Bay of
Biscay ! Then the arrival, disembarking, and journey
to London ; and the indescribable rapture of having
wife and children once again within one's vision and
grasp, so as to feel that one was not alone, but had a
habitation and belongings. These things belong to the
ineffable. Everyone who is truly married is a steward
of such mysteries."

Home settled down to work again in April 1897, full of
hope and vigour. His church gave him a warm welcome.
During his absence it had been decided to give him an
assistant, and the Rev. Charles Clay was appointed to the

102 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

office. This lightened his burden considerably; but
the fact must be reckoned with that from this time
onwards he had to contend with a certain physical weak-
ness. He was not disposed to acquiesce too easily in
medical cautions, and he found it very hard to dis-
continue " work that had become to be dear as life
itself." But he decided to go quietly ahead and see
what the future should bring forth. One of his great
interests at the moment was the issue, in collaboration
with the Rev. T. H. Darlow, of a small volume of
liturgical services for the use of Congregational churches.
It bore the title Let us Pray, and followed the lines to
which Home had accustomed his Kensington congre-
gation. He felt strongly the need for some improvement
in Free Church worship, and there is no doubt that the
little book, which has been followed by several others on
the same lines, contributed greatly towards the end he
had in view.

1897 was the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond
Jubilee. At the request of the Free Church Council
Home drew up a special form of service for the Jubilee
Sunday, which was widely used. Of the celebrations
generally he was somewhat critical. He writes : —

'' The enthusiasm displayed has been due to two things
principally — the recognition of the Throne as the centre
of our vast imperial system and the recognition of the
personal qualities of the Queen. Those whose imagina-
tions do not easily take fire, even in view of so magnificent
and inspiring a fact as the British Empire, find their
affections stimulated by the simple and genuine goodness
of the Queen's character. There cannot be two opinions
that to us of the Puritan strain this latter fact is the
prime motive of a loyalty such as we have never felt
or expressed towards any other monarch. The sub-
stantial purity of the Court is a thing new in English
history outside the Commonwealth, and undoubtedly

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 103

it has had its effect in a better tone throughout
society.

" Yesterday, by the kind invitation of Mr. R. J.
Barrett, the treasurer of my mission, I had a splendid
seat for viewing the procession just at the corner of
St. James' Street and Piccadilly, and commanding an
admirable view of both. Opinion is unanimous that it
was a magnificent military pageant. The representatives
of the Colonies and the Colonial troops were received by
the vast multitude with wild enthusiasm, and, needless
to say, the Queen's reception was most affectionate and
touching. For the moment one was so carried away as
to feel that nothing better could have been devised or
executed, but one's after-thoughts tend to a good deal of
criticism. How is it that our only idea of an exhibition
of national greatness and power is a parade of the mili-
tary ? Why, if Colonial statesmen were allowed places,
were English statesmen excluded ? Why were Art,
Science, Literature, Commerce conspicuous by their
absence ? Above all, why was Gladstone not there ?
The occasion was unique for the greatest architect of
the Constitution to be honoured by the people. Indeed,
it was probably the final opportunity of allowing the
millions of the Empire to see him.

" One reflects ruefully that this exclusive attention
and honour given to the military ends in flunkeyism
and snobbism unlimited. The list of honours is out of
all proportion a naval and military list. Yet no one
can pretend that the ' Services,' as they are called, do
the really hard and lasting work on which the solid
greatness of England depends. But they are showy ;
they take the eye ; they please the vulgar desire for
colour and physique ; their clothes are fine and their
horses handsome. The consequence is that we continue
to submit to a monopoly which is to the last degree
undeserved, and discreditable to a sensible and just
nation.

104 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

" It is perhaps worth noting that at the religious
service on the steps of St. Paul's places were found for
thirty representatives of the Free Churches. It is
hardly necessary to say that they were not permitted to
take any part in the service ; even though the Queen
is for half her time a Presbyterian, and consequently in
the eye of the Episcopal Church a Nonconformist.
More than half of this nation belongs to the Free
Churches, but we continue to allow to one sect the
monopoly of all great national functions. This, too, I
fancy, is largely a question of clothes. We like the Army
for its uniforms, and the clergy for their copes and
vestments generally. The ordinary Londoner likes any-
thing, indeed, that reminds him of Sanger's Circus or
the Lord Mayor's Show. And on such occasions as these
it is perhaps the wisest and best arrangement that
he should have his tastes gratified. At any rate, our
public processions and ceremonial do not err in the
direction of being pitched in too high a key. The proof
of which is that they are popular ; and until, if ever,
education improves and purifies our tastes, they will
continue to be popular."

Home took his holiday late this year, and remaining
in London during the greater part of August, had the
opportunity of preaching to much smaller congregations
than usual. He makes the interesting confession that
he found it a relief : " when every sensation of crowding
eagerness and excitement is lacking one gets a quiet
and calm which is by no means ad verse ! to true worship.
I feel with some genuine satisfaction that I am person-
ally not in the least dependent on a crowded congrega-
tion for stimulus and fervour in the conduct of public
worship."

Before he left London he wrote a scathing letter to
the Independent expressing his entire lack of confidence
in the Liberal leaders, and especially Sir W. Harcourt, in

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 105

consequence of their action or inaction regarding the
South African Committee. It is a matter of history
that the committee was content to whitewash the doings
of Cecil Rhodes and the Chartered Company, and neither
on the committee nor in the House of Commons did the
Liberal leaders raise any protest. They did not even
dissent from Mr. Chamberlain's declaration that the
personal honour of Rhodes was unstained. Home's
protest was timely, and voiced the very general feeling
of Nonconformists. It led him to watch South African
affairs with some care, and prepared the way for his
very pronounced attitude on the Boer War. The end
of this year and the beginning of 1898 saw some changes
at Allen Street Church. Mr. William Holborn, who
had been secretary of the church for about a quarter
of a century, was compelled by ill-health to resign his
office, and shortly afterwards Mr. Thomas Walker died.
Home felt keenly the loss of such staunch friends and
fellow- workers. He writes : —

" These changes affect me most keenly. I do not
know how to endure them, and have not the philoso-
phical mind which can accept them as part of the regular
order of things. Certainly we are very rich in capable
officers at Allen Street, but oh these changes, these
changes ! "

The following extracts from the diary speak for
themselves : —

" Mar. 26, 1908. — At the beginning of this week I was
in Leicester. The meetings of the Liberal Federation
were being held, and Sir Walter Foster and his daughter,
Mrs. Fordham, were staying at the same house. I found
him very genial and friendly ; but we had a most des-
perate argument over the new proposal to establish a
Roman Catholic University in Ireland. John Morley

106 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

has got into great disgrace among Nonconformist
Liberals by his support of this proposition ; Mr. Cozens-
Hardy declared to me that he had betrayed us. I found
Sir Walter actually sympathetic with the proposal;
and I told him that I thought that we had arrived at
one educational principle at least, viz. never to coun-
tenance grants of public money for sectarian purposes.
Evidently there will be the usual division of opinion in
the Liberal camp. We never seem to be able nowa-
days to make a really forceful protest on behalf of
anything, so divided are we among ourselves."

" May 20, 1898.— Gladstone died yesterday. Quite
early in the morning special editions of the evening
papers were issued announcing that he passed away
about 5 a.m. It was the morning of Ascension Day —
in itself a beautiful coincidence. One could not help
feeling that if he had been able to choose, he would have
chosen this day of all days to die on. Outside the
weather was significant of the universal sense of desola-
tion. A strong and bitter east wind, and driving rain,
turned our May to winter. The whole world was chill
and drear beyond description. Joy seemed suddenly
to have withered from the face of things. I went down
to my evening service, where I found only some five
and forty people assembled. Of course the one thought
was uppermost — Gladstone was dead. I spoke to them
of him as one to whom we owed much as Noncon-
formists, but who would be specially remembered as a
great Christian statesman. Few men can ever have lived
who maintained so consistently the highest standard
of public life. With one of the most magnificent and
versatile intellects of all time, he found no difficulty in
associating therewith a simple and childlike faith.
There was no incongruity between his thought and his
belief. And he had that supreme crown of a good life,
a calm and serene death, untroubled by fear and doubt,
though his last illness was accompanied by severe and

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 107

protracted agony. It is almost impossible to think of
England without Gladstone — he was such a large part
of her life. His career is the history of modern England.
He entered Parliament four years before her Majesty
came to the throne. He broke all Parliamentary
records. No one ever held so many times the highest
offices of state, or occupied a seat in Parliament for so
many years. From all countries and all parties there
is a vast, impressive chorus of eulogy and lamentation.
An American leading journal calls him ' the world's
greatest citizen,' and doubtless so he has been. He
leaves scarcely a contemporary of note behind him.
Ruskin seems the one great survivor of an age of giants
— and of course he is a much younger man. Dr.
Martineau alone remains who in greatness of intellect
and character is akin to Gladstone ; and he has lived
the life of the man of letters, and not borne the burden
and heat of the day as Gladstone did. We are all
speculating whether the funeral will be at Hawarden or
the Abbey."

Early in 1899 Home was approached by the church
at Queen Street, Wolverhampton, with a view to his
succeeding Dr. Charles Berry. Nothing came of the
overtures, except that they caused him to review his
position at Allen Street, and to question whether his
work there might not be over.

" There is no outward reason for discouragement," he
wrote, " but I am not sure that by remaining I shall
carry the congregation forward to any point of greater
spiritual prosperity. ... A minister wants to know
that there is such a general enthusiasm for the work of
the church, and such real gain resulting from his ministry
that the congregation is advancing in the spiritual life.
Nothing is so difficult to ascertain as this, and one may

108 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

be misled by a few signs that do not mean much. But
I am not persuaded that we have the necessary spirit
among us, and hence this unsettled feeling for almost or
quite the first time in my ministry."

How groundless these fears were is indicated by
another passage in his diary a few months later :—

" I have felt a good deal encouraged here latterly.
Congregations have been large, additions to the church
numerous, and the responses to an appeal we have
issued for a Twentieth Century Fund most splendid and
inspiring. The whole congregation to a man and woman
has entered into the scheme with ardour and liberality,
demonstrating that the spirit of loyalty to our mission
and principles has never been stronger and truer. I
have had some further overtures from Wolverhampton,
but they have been indirect, and do not disturb me
now. My present duty is very clear before me, and I
must not allow myself to be diverted to the right hand
or to the left."

Meanwhile outside calls were multiplying. The
London Congregational Union elected him its chairman.
Remonstrances from his deacons led him to decline the
honour, but he ultimately accepted the vice- chairman-
ship with a view to taking the chair in the following
year. He wrote to his wife : —

" April 17, 1899.

"... I want you to know that I have accepted the
Vice-Presidency of the London Union ; not without
misgivings certainly, and not without a clear under-
standing from Mearns » as to the maximum of work

1 Rev. Andrew Mearne, secretary of the London Congregational
Union.

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 109

that I am to be expected to do. It seemed to me that
I could not decently refuse. The time is a somewhat
critical one. We are launching a vast scheme, and what
one voice can do to give it a chance and an encouraging
word ought to be done. . . ."

The following letters, also to his wife, show him in
another mood: —

"April 20.

"... We are going to have a unique Cromwell ser-
vice on the 30th. I am printing a special Order of
Service. We are going to sing Cromwell's psalm (117)
in the old Scotch version, to Bangor, the tune to which
Carlyle says it was sung. Then Andrew Black is going
to sing, and we have chosen ' Is not His Word like a fire ? '
from the Elijah. You remember how the Lord whets
His sword and breaks them in pieces like a hammer !
Oh, very Ironsidy. He will also sing ' Why do the
nations ? ' with the lovely bit about the Kings and
Rulers of the earth setting themselves against the
Lord's anointed 1 But I will send you an Order when
printed. . . ."

"August 1, 1899.

"... Fred and I spent a happy day yesterday at
Lord's, where for the first time I saw Ranjitsinji in his
real form, and am somewhat of a convert to the belief
that he is the most beautiful bat in the world. We also
saw Trott hit a ball clean over the Pavilion — a perfectly
giant drive, worth going far to see. Altogether it was
a capital day's cricket, and pleasantly warm, with a light
breeze from the north."

Later in August he started for America in order to
attend the International Congregational Council at

110 THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON

Boston. His part in the programme was to read a paper
on work among young people, but this represented only
a fraction of the work he had to do. He spoke at other
sessions of the council, and at some of the social functions
connected with it, and always with such a combination
of wit and fervour as delighted his audiences. He felt
himself very much at home in the freer ecclesiastical
atmosphere of America, and was very happy in all his
references to it. The result was that he was almost
overwhelmed with invitations to preach and speak.
On his return he wrote of his experiences as follows : —

" I was too lazy to write in my diary during the rest
of the trip, and perhaps too busy and happy seeing every-
thing and everybody. We travelled up the St. Lawrence
to Niagara. There I went on alone to Chicago and St.
Louis, and rejoined Alfred Fordham down south at
Gettysburg. Thence we made our way up through
Washington, Philadelphia, and New York to Boston.
The Council occupied the rest of my time. It was a most
memorable occasion. I was very fortunately housed
in Boston, receiving hospitality from a Mr. and Mrs.
Adams, who, with their son and daughter, made up one
of the happiest families I have ever met. Their kindness
was quite overpowering. The same applies to a Mr.
and Mrs. W., who entertained me royally at St. Louis,
and from whom I parted with real emotion. At Chicago
I had as guide Dr. Simeon Gilbert, formerly editor of the
Advance. He showed me everything, and made my stay
as delightful as it was profitable. At Montreal we were
indebted for exceptional kindness to Dr. George, the
Principal of the Theological College. And at Newhaven
my dear friend Dr. Ray Palmer and his daughter were
extraordinarily good to us. I travelled home in the
same ship as Dr. Fairbairn, who was a most congenial
companion. We went straight to Manchester, and

THE MINISTRY AT KENSINGTON 111

stayed with Mrs. Ry lands until the inaugural ceremonies
of the Rylands Library were over. Everything passed
off to perfection. Fairbairn's address was beyond praise,
and Mrs. Rylands' gracious and dignified bearing all
through was something to remember."

CHAPTER IV

RELIGION AND POLITICS

THE year 1900 was clouded by the first reverses of the
Boer War. Home was opposed to the war throughout,
as he had been to the whole policy which led up to it.
Time and events have abundantly justified the attitude
which he took up ; but for the moment he was very much
alone, and though he never wavered in his convictions,
he felt keenly the isolation which they involved. He
stuck to his point, however, and both by his pen and
by word of mouth he bravely bore witness to what he
believed to be the claims of justice and humanity. It
hurt him grievously to be in opposition to the policy
of his country, for he was indeed a patriot at heart, but
just for that very reason he could do no other. His
position may be best described in his own words : —

"January 3, 1900. — Everybody wants to know whether
this is or is not the beginning of a new century. Those
who are strong in arithmetic and poor in imagination
say no, but imagination is on the side of 1900. Never
has any year opened drearier. We are. at war with the
Transvaal, and have suffered reverse on reverse. There
is no prophesying the end, and the whole business seems
lamentable and avoidable. I have perpetrated one
letter of protest to the Daily News, for which Mr. Bryce 1
sent me a much- valued word of approval and thanks.
It was ' the best thing he had seen lately.' I preached
against the war with some hesitation, but there seemed
no reason for silence except that the war fever was violent

1 Now Lord Bryce.
112

RELIGION AND POLITICS 113

and prevalent. I hope the pro-war part of the congrega-
tion will forgive me by the middle of the century. One
old friend, a Scotchman, came to see me a few Sundays
back, and broke into sobbings as he tried to tell me that
three dear friends had been killed in the Black Watch.
He believed they were fighting for justice. So no doubt
they were, even if our country has, through her states-
men, put herself in the wrong.

" I spent a good part of yesterday with Horton
and Pierce at the Vandyck Exhibition. We were all
enraptured, and especially delighted with the picture
of Lord Wharton, lent by the Czar. He has a serene,
a heavenly face, and is described in the catalogue as a
' violent Puritan.' This is very entertaining. Horton
seems to think that we cannot win in this war, and that
Providence will deal kindly with us in allowing us to be
still further defeated ; so that South Africa may become
United Dutch States. He thinks the power and charac-
ter of a Boer are such as might make his rule there purer
and nobler than ours. I confess I do not share his views,
and still hope for the supremacy of Britain in South
Africa ; but we have done all in our power to make
disaster inevitable."

" January 12. — Latterly I have been feeling terribly
lonely. I cannot use any other word. Say what you
like, there is an alienation where opinion on some great
question is fiercely divided. My own feeling of horror
and shame at the war I cannot put on paper, nor into
words. I feel exactly as Dr. Arnold used to say he did
when the sympathies are at war with the reason. My
sympathies are all with my country ; but my convictions
are against her. The feeling that she is wrong, and is
pursuing at appalling cost a wrong path, is agonizing.
I do not sleep properly at nights ; and indeed the strain
of the situation is unspeakable. Then the loneliness !
So few of my nearest and dearest friends take this view.
Certainly Mr. Cozens-Hardy is a great stand-by. He is
8

114 RELIGION AND POLITICS

so true to the nobler love of England, and faith in
her mission. I am afraid my own father is on the other
side ; and I can hardly remember ever differing from
him before. I do not dare to write and ask him just
what he thinks ; for I feel as if I could not bear to know
that he is in favour of the war. Mr. Edward Spicer, too,
whose judgment I respect almost more than that of
anyone I know, is a believer in the justice of the war.
It is staggering, bewildering. I try to go on with a
smiling face and keep people happy ; but my heart is
lead. The misery of the felt estrangement on a great
moral issue is intense. I have seen Horton to-day and
had a long talk with him. We are to summon a meet-
ing of our ministers for prayer. I wanted to make it an
opportunity for a simple protest on behalf of peace,
and against the war spirit and policy, but he overrules
me, and this is better than nothing. It is a relief, ' the
sure relief of prayer.' "

"February 28. — We at home are fighting almost as
fiercely as Briton and Boer out there. Nothing could
exceed the bitterness and brutality of the extreme Jingo
faction. One of our ministers whom it would be unkind
to name has denounced the entire Peace party as either
1 imbecile or traitors ' ! Probably the most deplorable
fact of the situation is that many of our men who took
a strong clear line at first have been intimidated by this
violence into apologizing for their former ideas. I was
present when . . . said at Mr. . . .'s table that he
regarded the war as the crime of the century ; but now
no language is too severe for him to use in condemnation
of those who are in favour of stopping this war. J.W.
has executed a most remarkable back-somersault ; for
having preached uncompromisingly against the war, he
has now preached as uncompromisingly in favour of it,
taking ' Joab,' of all people, as a model for England's
imitation. Meanwhile Mr. Rhodes has been declaring,
amid approving and enthusiastic cheers, that the English

RELIGION AND POLITICS 115

flag is the most valuable commercial asset in the world.
The Daily Mail exults over the probable renewed pros-
perity of the African capitalists, declaring there is
nobody like ' Bobs.' Even Lord Roberts has done the
one unchristian act of which I should think he will ever
be accused, and has connected the victory over Cronje
with Majuba, thereby pandering to all the lowest senti-
ments of revenge. And this, God help her, is England.
To us who are fairly paralyzed by all this, the saddest
thought is that we can never feel quite as we have done
about England in the future. To be shut in to admira-
tion of her more distant past ; to have one's belief in
her justice deadened if not destroyed ; to see how
weakly she will allow her sense of fairness and justice
to be overborne by the clamour of men whom history
has proved to be unscrupulous adventurers — all this
is horrible enough. And I personally feel it must
weaken one's ministry. Love of country, and pride in
country, is something one would fain cherish if for no
other reason because it enables one to strike a note to
which the hearts of one's fellows are quickly and en-
thusiastically responsive. But I can never talk again
quite with the same accent. If England should rise up
and declare her determination to respect the indepen-
dence and integrity of the Boer Republics, she might
even yet go far to reinstate herself in the eyes of the
world and in her own eyes. But when one considers
the tone of the Press, and the temper of the Stock Ex-
change, and one must add the flabbiness of the ' Non-
conformist Conscience,' one can only expect the worst."

Home made no secret of the opinions thus expressed.
That he was labelled a pro-Boer and incurred a good
deal of obloquy and abuse from the gutter press disturbed
him far less than the fact that he was compelled to differ
from many of his friends. His church, however, remained
entirely loyal, and as time went on it became clear that

116 RELIGION AND POLITICS

there was far more sympathy with his position in Non-
conformist circles than appeared on the surface. He
took an active part in the rushed khaki election of the
autumn of 1900, but he had never any hope that it would
alter the balance of parties. He deplored the bitterness
engendered and the low ebb to which the public spirit
had sunk.

About this time, also, he was greatly disturbed by
receiving an urgent call to the pastorate of the Morning-
side Congregational Church, Edinburgh. Morningside
is a young church, and was then led by a band of keen
and active men who believed that it had a great future
before it. They were prepared to launch out into a
great forward movement and to make the church a
centre of Congregational witness for all Scotland. But
they wanted the right kind of leader, and they believed
that they had found him in the minister of Allen Street.
Home was greatly attracted by the prospect. Edinburgh
itself appealed to him, especially as it offered a prospect
of influencing the university students. Then there was
a spice of adventure about the whole scheme, an oppor-
tunity of making a fresh start and of working on his own
lines. All this led him to consider the call very seriously.
He wrote in his diary : —

" November 29. — Latterly the feeling has been growing
upon me that I have done all I can with this congrega-
tion. Last Sunday evening, for instance, I harangued
them on Temperance. I had the sense then, which I so
often have, of talking things, which to me are almost
life-blood, to those who are just a little amused at my
impetuosity. In other words, I think the large majority
at Allen Street do not believe with me. They are there
because they believe in me. I like this state of things
and I don't. We are very happy together. They
respect me and I respect them ; but we are not close
enough to one another to be able to move all together.

RELIGION AND POLITICS 117

I would give a good slice of the dignity of Allen Street
for some almost devil-may-care enthusiasm and hot-
headed fanatical madness of Paul's sort. Not one of
my congregation that I can think of would need to
explain to Festus that he is not mad ! Well, I am going
up to Edinburgh next week to look round and hear
proposals. So far I shall certainly go, unless the unfore-
seen happens. After that — well, there will be some
delicate weighing to do, and one can only leave the issue
in His Hands Who helpeth our infirmities of judgment."

The decision was a very difficult one to make. Home's
friends were divided. Some of them, including Dr.
Fairbairn, thought that for his own sake a change would
be good but doubted whether he would find in Edinburgh
the best kind of scope for his powers. His own people
were greatly alarmed at the prospect of losing him, and
both collectively and as individuals urged him to remain
among them. He was greatly touched by the strength
and sincerity of their pleading, and came to realize, as he
had perhaps not done before, how deep was their attach-
ment to him and how greatly they depended on him for
spiritual leadership and teaching. The consciousness of
this had a great deal to do with his ultimate decision,
that his duty still lay in London. He therefore declined
the call to Edinburgh, and explained his reasons in the
following very frank letter to the Kensington Church.

" December 22, 1900.

" MY DEAR FRIENDS,

"As you are all aware, I have been anxiously
considering during the last few days an invitation to
become the Minister of Morningside Congregational
Church, Edinburgh. The attractions of such a call can
perhaps only be fully appreciated by those who know
the opportunity for work presented by Morningside,
the proximity of the University men, and, above all,

118 RELIGION AND POLITICS

the quality of Christian life in the members of the
Church itself. As you will readily suppose, the fact
that the Church is prepared to make very real and
tangible sacrifices to sustain me in the work there, and
has courage and faith to ' attempt great things for God,'
has deeply impressed me. From all parts of Scotland
I have received tributes to the sterling and exceptional
character of those who are leaders of that Church.
Among my own ministerial friends here in England are
some who knew the Morningside Church well, and all of
them were agreed that if I had any thought of leaving
Kensington, no better or happier opening was possible
for me.

" This was the case for Edinburgh. On the other
hand was your tried loyalty and undiminished confidence
and affection, of which I have had so gracious an expres-
sion during the past ten days. I had to review the
situation here, to try to estimate the probability of
injury to the work here if I were to leave — work which
I love with all my heart. Gradually the issue narrowed
itself to this. In which of these two spheres am I more
needed ? In other words, which is the more difficult
post to fill ? Which is the harder fort to hold ?

" The great body of evidence which I have been able
to gather points to the certainty of success in Edinburgh.
The situation is ideal, the population is rapidly increasing,
and there is no such social hostility to our work there as
prevails here. All this is immensely attractive. But in
Kensington we have a peculiarly difficult neighbourhood.
Our numerical weakness as Free Churchmen must be
apparent to every observer. We have to encounter, and
by God's help overcome, an almost inconceivable degree
of prejudice. Moreover, we share the problems of
London. We have to fight the growing apathy and
irreligion. We have to deliver our witness against a
dominant and aggressive sacerdotalism. I want to tell
you, therefore, that while I still feel the fascination and

RELIGION AND POLITICS 119

promise of this new work in the north, I feel even more
sure that the post of greater difficulty is the post of
greater honour and duty, and it is a post made happy by
your loving and unvarying sympathy and help. Acting
on this consideration, I have declined the invitation to
Edinburgh ; and I confidently appeal for all your help
and support in continuing the Ministry which God and
this Church of Christ have called me to fulfil.

" Believe me, yours very affectionately,

" C. SILVESTER HORNE."

At the morning service on December 30 he said : —

" To few congregations, perhaps, could I have written
as frankly about motives as I did to you, but I knew you
would not misunderstand. You would not fall into
the error of thinking Duty a thing irksome, but rather
the gladdest, happiest, most attractive, most beautiful
of all pathways. For that deep sympathetic under-
standing of the position I thank you.

" There is no need for you to know how far across the
border I was when your kind hands reached me and drew
me back. I had come to believe that perhaps after all
the Forth was almost as fine a river as the Thames, but
to-day I have no regrets save the old one, that I am so
unequal to my duties and so undeserving of myprivileges.
It is my prayer that this new demonstration of your
attachment and loyalty may make you a better church
and me a better minister and a better man."

Though he settled down to his work again contentedly
enough, there is no doubt that the Edinburgh call had
shaken him, and had left him wondering whether he
ought not to look for some new and wider sphere for his
powers. It is not to be wondered at that he felt increas-
ingly the limitations of the ordinary pastorate. This
feeling was enhanced by his experience of a mission

120 RELIGION AND POLITICS

which he conducted in Cambridge early in 1901. The
mission was arranged by the Free Churches of the town,
but, held on the neutral ground of the Guildhall, it
attracted all sorts and conditions of men and women, and
made an extraordinarily deep and wide appeal. Home
was always at his best when pleading the claims of
Christianity with young men and women, and on this
occasion he certainly excelled himself. The Cambridge
churches felt the effect of it for many years. He wrote
of it to his wife : —

" CAMBRIDGE,

" February 18, 1901.

" We have begun. I was wishing all the while that
you were here last night. It was a wonderful sight. . . .
On Sunday morning I had a very fine congregation at
Emmanuel Church, and we had, I think, a good service.
Then I had lunch at Tom Winterbotham's rooms, and
from there went on to the Guildhall to the young people's
meeting. The hall was packed. The head master of
the Leys School gave the address, and the service was
quite a good one. At night the hall was a seething mass
of people, and an overflow meeting was held by Halliday
Douglas, the Presbyterian, in the small hall. Hundreds
of people stood all the time. I spoke on Repentance,
and the meeting was a quiet and impressive one. The
singing is splendid, though the solos, I fear, will not be
a great addition. ... I am going to address the Leys
School and also a meeting for University men."

" February 19. — You simply cannot conceive how busy
I am. It is most interesting. ... I started a Bible
Reading yesterday, and had the small hall at the Guildhall
full. At night the large hall was packed again, and we
certainly had a very fine meeting. The pledge-cards are
largely enquired for. This afternoon I have been to
see Dr. Dykes at Westminster College, andDr.Woodhead.1
I am going on from here to P. S.'s rooms, and after that

1 Now Sir Q. Sims Woodhead.

RELIGION AND POLITICS 121

to address the Leys School. Then there is the evening
meeting. We are going to have a meeting for University
men after all on Thursday night, at 9.30. How on earth
I am going to get any Sunday preparation done I don't
know ! "

" February 21. — . . . Once again I do wish you were
here. I seem suddenly to have broken out into the
character of a successful missioner ! Nobody is quite
so astonished as I am. The crowds here have amazed
everybody. Last night the great Hall was densely
thronged, and numbers could not get in. There were
large numbers of University men, working-men from
the railway, and all sorts and conditions of people
besides. In the afternoon, at my Bible Reading at 3
o'clock, the small hall was fairly flooded out. Chairs
had to be brought in, and every corner was filled. The
absolute stillness and electric atmosphere is quite
extraordinary. We are learning of all sorts of remark-
able results. The pledge-cards are being extensively
used, and the after- meetings are wonderful. I don't
ask those who are just deciding to hold up hands, but
I put the proposition fairly to the meeting, and wait
while the hesitaters make up their minds. Then we
all repeat the pledge. To-night I have a meeting for
Varsity men. I find the interest in it has grown, and
probably it will be well attended. But it is an awful day,
the snow is blinding, and the streets are deep in slush.
So we may have but a thin audience at both meetings.
Well, God disposeth ! . . ."

" February 23. — Just a line to say I am home, and have
two sermons to write in one day. The end of the mission
sort of baffles description. Thursday night was a terror
of snow, slush, and general beastliness ; but the hall was
crowded. I spoke about temptations, from a big pile
of letters I had received. Then I went to the small
hall. I should think we had 150 undergraduates.
Dr. Woodhead told me it was just the right address.

122 RELIGION AND POLITICS

I hope so. I went for them straight. ' All things are
yours and ye are Christ's.' Your peril is that you have
so much to enjoy and so little to endure. You get out
of touch with the Cross. That sort of thing. I got
home about eleven o'clock. Yesterday was a fine day.
At the Bible Reading we had nearly 400 people ! We
packed them into every corner of the small hall. Then
at night, such a scene. The huge hall was one seething
mass of humanity. We had ' Count your blessings '
twice ! I spoke on Fidelity. At the close I had an after-
meeting, and about 1,500 people stayed. Then the
ladies' enquiry room was so full that I was there till
about a quarter to twelve ! After that two University
men were waiting to talk with me, and various others to
say good-bye.

" Altogether I shall never forget it as long as I live,
and I don't think the people will forget it easily. ..."

Earlier in this year the public mind had been greatly
occupied and stirred by the death of Queen Victoria and
the accession, illness, and coronation of King Edward.
When the " tumult and the shouting " had died down,
Home wrote of it all : —

" We are just emerging out of the period of mourning.
Shades of purple and heliotrope relieve the black hats
and dresses of the women, and the men venture on black
and white ties instead of the entire black that has been
customary for two or three months. The Sunday follow-
ing the death of the Queen was a memorable day. It
seemed as if for once everybody went to church. I had
seen Madame Clara Butt during the week : she was
unwell, but consented to sing ' Abide with Me ' at the
Memorial Service. I believe this hymn was written as a
funeral hymn. The setting by Mr. Liddle has become a
great favourite ; in addition to which the Queen herself
delighted in it. We had an enormous congregation,

RELIGION AND POLITICS 123

numbers of people being unable to obtain admittance.
None will ever forget Clara Butt's singing. I hardly
dared to look at the faces of the people. There was a
big lump in my own throat, and my voice was very
unsteady when I offered prayer at the close. We took
Bridget to church for the first time. She was much
impressed ; but when I asked her what she remembered,
she only said, ' I saw you up there by the piano ! '
(organ).

** We had a very fine view of the funeral procession
from Cambridge Terrace. Judged merely as a procession,
it had two obvious defects. It was far too exclusively
military ; and there was no music except at one point
of the procession. The coffin was borne on a gun-
carriage, and was covered with a glorious white silk pall.
On the top were crowns, sceptre, and the insignia of
her office generally. As the coffin drew near I hoisted
little Bridget on to my shoulder so that she might see
better. She was evidently startled; and she said, in
quite a loud tone, ' But the table hasn't got any legs.'
This she repeated to me on the following day. It was
of course useless to explain to her what a coffin really
was, so I did not try.

" A very different kind of show was the opening of
Parliament in state by the new King and Queen. We
saw the procession from the best possible point of view—
the windows of Mr. Gurney Salter's office, just opposite
the House of Lords. The amazingly comic Cinderella
coach was an object of wonder and amusement to every-
body. Someone remarked that you could not see the
King and Queen for Lord George Sanger ! This was
hardly true, because you could see the King and Queen
exceedingly clearly. Near us one of the cream-coloured
horses had the good sense to get a leg over the trace.
The coach was stopped, and we gazed contentedly on
royalty for quite a couple of minutes.

" Another quite interesting state function at which

124 RELIGION AND POLITICS

I * assisted ' was the presentation of an address to His
Majesty by representatives of the Three Denominations.
There were twenty of us, Congregationalists, Baptists,
and Presbyterians. Mr. William Pierce was our secretary
and the reader of the address. We assembled at the
Memorial Hall and drove to St. James' Palace, where we
were ushered into a robing-room. Those who had not
the university gown and hood wore the Geneva preach-
ing robe with white bands. Some of the gowns had a
hireling appearance. When we were made thus present-
able for the august presence, we were taken into one of the
great waiting-rooms, where three other deputations were
assembled — the Unitarians, the Quakers, and the Univer-
sity of London. In the next room to ours the Bishops
and Established Clergy of Scotland were in full fig. It
was pleasant to watch the animation of old Archbishop
Temple as he discoursed with one and another. He
is perhaps the finest illustration of the good physical
effects of abstinence in the Kingdom. By and by we
were marshalled in fours opposite two folding doors.
Then at a given signal the doors opened, and we looked
through to the throne at the far end, and the King in
scarlet uniform with the Duke of York standing on his
left hand. We formed a semicircle round the King,
and Pierce advanced three steps and made three bows,
and then read the address in a clear, pleasant voice.
It was a good address, I thought, emphasizing the glories
of peace, and the value of the liberties for which we
have contended. The King, who looked ill, and spoke
in a very hoarse, thick voice, read the reply which his
secretary handed to him. After this hands were kissed
by old Mr. Turquand, somewhat portly and very
effusively loyal, who almost overreached himself in his
exuberance, and by Professor Hackney, Anabaptist, who
strode up, seized the King's hand, lifted it and gave it a
resounding smack, which made even the bored beefeaters
smile. Then began the backwards shuffle, and I got

RELIGION AND POLITICS 125

first to the door, turned, and fled. Sic transit gloria
mundi."

In April Home had a welcome extra holiday in Italy
with his wife and her father and sister. They spent
the time mainly in Rome and Florence, and did the sights
very thoroughly. At Rome they had an audience with
the Pope, and Home remarked on the unreal theatricality
of the whole scene, and confessed himself more interested
in pagan than in Christian Rome. The pomp and cir-
cumstance of the Papal entourage made as little appeal
to him as did the pretensions of the Pope to temporal
power. He never indulged in any illusions in regard
to the relations between Protestant and Catholic
Christendom, or sought to minimize the gulf that separ-
ates them. When, therefore, soon after his return
home, he was invited by Mr. Athelstan Riley to attend
a reception " of those interested in the reunion of
Christendom," he accepted the invitation without any
great expectations as to the issue. He wrote :—

" I don't honestly think I am much interested in that
pious aspiration, but I was very glad to go. Mr. Riley
was most gracious, and took great pains to make me feel
at home. He first of all introduced me to Earl Nelson,
a great cripple, with whom I did not find many topics of
conversation ; and subsequently to Lord Halifax.
I greatly enjoyed a talk with the latter. He was very
genial, and when I thanked him for an address he
delivered at Stepney Meeting, he said he thought it a
very natural thing to do and a very simple one. ' Why
should we not be friendly ? ' he asked ; and I could
only confess that I did not know why, but that we by
no means always were. The shibboleth of the evening
seemed to be that the things that unite us are greater
than the things that divide. This I heard repeated a
score of times. The Vicar of Lambeth talked agreeably.

126 RELIGION AND POLITICS

Lord Halifax introduced him to me as the man who
has the cure of the Archbishop of Canterbury's soul.
* It is a very sweet soul,' said the Vicar ; but Lord
Halifax laughingly deprecated the adjective ! Father
Black was another of the notorieties I met. He was
appropriately clothed in a black robe, but evidently had
some jocular capabilities in him. A Dr. Stephens, who
has recently left the Church of Rome for the Church of
England, seemed to be received with caution by the latter,
and viewed with coldness by the Romanists. There were
Greek, Russian, Roman, and Anglican priests and laymen
present in large numbers ; and it was evidently not
in contemplation to reunite Christendom on ascetic
lines ; for liberal viands were discussed in the room
below, where the champagne flowed freely."

After a summer holiday on the Broads and at Sher-
ingham, where he played a good deal of golf with Mr.
Augustine Birrell, " who does not play as though it were
the most serious business in life, but enjoys it, and takes
just as much of it as he feels inclined," Home settled
down to a very hard winter's work. The chairmanship
of the London Congregational Union, the writing of
The History of the Free Churches, and the claims of a very
difficult and exciting political situation made heavy
demands on his time, already fully occupied by the
ordinary work of his church. His health again was not
what it should be, and he had been greatly depressed by
the sudden death of Mrs. Edward Spicer, one of his
most staunch supporters at Allen Street and a very dear
friend. So we find him writing to his wife on one of his
journeys towards the close of the year :—

" I sometimes think I have done all my strength will
allow me at Kensington. Indeed, I have been wondering
whether it may not be necessary to take a few months'
rest, finish the history quietly, and then go to ... for a
few years and try and get built up for some larger work

RELIGION AND POLITICS 127

and sphere later on. But this is a mere dream, as you
see. If I can get my strength back I will rejoice and be
glad and of a good courage."

He had certainly no chance of any such respite.
Events were brewing in the political world which were
to make even greater demands upon him and tax his
powers to the utmost. The Education Bill of 1902
roused his fighting spirit as nothing had done yet, and
brought him into the forefront of the political fray. The
struggle had largely to be sustained by the Noncon-
formists in the country owing to the confusion and
weakness of the Liberal Party. This is well illustrated
by an incident which took place early in the year, of
which he gives the following account : —

" March 5, 1902. — Last night there was a meeting of
some interest at the house of Mr. Compton-Rickett, M.P.
Some thirty Nonconformist ministers were invited to
meet Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. It is clear that
the Liberal Party is near another disastrous split. Lord
Rosebery has emerged from his Dalmeny hermitage,
and is making a bold bid for a new Liberalism which is
to approve the South African War, disavow Home Rule,
and have for its watchword ' efficiency.' It is reported
that he refuses to entertain the idea of working with
' C. B.,' and the meeting last night was to discover what
prospect there was of maintaining Liberal unity.
When I got there late private and confidential talk was
the order of the day, and C. B. was deep in conversation
with Hugh Price Hughes. There were present, among
others, Dr. Mackennal, Dr. Barrett, R. J. Campbell,
Guinness Rogers, Robertson Nicoll, Percy Bunting,
J. D. Jones, Shakespeare, Greenhough, Selbie, Halley
Stewart, Albert Spicer, and Rendel Harris. Mr. Herbert
Gladstone, the chief Liberal Whip, was there, and it was
ordered that a report of the proceedings was to be made

128 RELIGION AND POLITICS

and confidentially kept. C. B. made a very lucid and
excellent speech, too much on the ' military supremacy '
lines to please me, but with an obvious desire to illus-
trate Liberalism in the ' settlement ' by generous con-
ciliation and amnesty and respect for the Boer nation-
ality. Price Hughes was very emphatic in his approval,
and said that in nine cases out of ten he would agree
with Sir Henry rather than with Lord Rosebery. He
was enthusiastic in defence of Home Rule, and only
pressed Sir Henry never to say anything that would make
it difficult for him to work with Lord Rosebery in the
future. Mackennal made a weighty speech. Barrett
recommended saying nothing about the war and drop-
ping Home Rule. Then Campbell did the curiously
infelicitous thing — proposing a resolution to the effect
that the meeting hoped that Lord Rosebery would come
back to lead the Liberal Party, with Sir Henry as the
leader of the House of Commons. Of course Sir Henry
lightly replied that nobody had ever been elected leader
of the Liberal Party. He was leader of the Commons
and Lord Spencer was leader of the Lords ; and ' there
is no vacancy.' But he added he personally was willing
to work with Lord Rosebery or under Lord Rosebery ;
and that none who knew him would doubt it. If ever
by some accident he were brought within reach of the
highest place in the land, he would gladly devolve the
duties upon Lord Rosebery. This manly, modest, and
honest statement produced almost a sensation, and cer-
tainly created a very fine impression. At this point
C. B. left ; and then the discords developed. Mr.
Rickett told us that Lord Rosebery had said plainly,
4 1 can have no communion with you, C. B.' This C. B.
had told him. Mr. Rickett further said that he thought
it was a question of a Whig ministry, and a Palmerston
period, or else of a more robust Liberalism. His speech
produced a good deal of feeling. Shakespeare practically
said it must be Lord Rosebery or a split. Robertson

RELIGION AND POLITICS 129

Nicoll said that the Irish Alliance had done us no good,
and that he dissented from every word that Rickett had
spoken. Herbert Gladstone, in a wise and fine-spirited
speech, tried to throw oil on the troubled waters. But
the surges of Imperialism would not be allayed. Silas
Hocking had expressed his absolute dissent from Shakes-
peare ; and the meeting ended with a feeling on the part
of most of utter hopelessness. I have never felt more
sick and weary and distressed than when I rode home in
a cab early this morning. Probably the same men will
be invited to meet Lord Rosebery."

As has often been pointed out, the aim of the Educa-
tion Bill of 1902 was not so much the improvement of
education as the relief of the managers of church schools
from what they regarded as an intolerable burden. It
had become evident that under the voluntary system
these schools could no longer hope to survive in competi-
tion with the rate -supported board schools. The Govern-
ment therefore decided to use the great majority obtained
in the khaki election in order to secure rate aid for the
church schools. As the aim and scope of their pro-
posals came to be understood, they were hotly resented
by Nonconformists. The opposition to them was led
by Dr. Clifford, and he was ably and enthusiastically
supported by Home. The latter spoke on the subject
both at the spring and autumnal meetings of the
Congregational Union. The autumn meetings were
held this year at Glasgow, where, after a long discussion
on an official resolution calling for opposition to the Act
by all legitimate means, Home brought matters to a head
by proposing an amendment to the effect that " if the
Act is forced upon the nation, the assembly is prepared
to advise its members to refuse to pay the rate." He
supported his proposal in a brief but most effective
speech, and carried it by an immense majority. After-
wards both he and the assembly were subjected ta a
9

130 RELIGION AND POLITICS

good deal of criticism for having taken so serious a step
at the close of a heated session. But Home knew what
he was doing, and only put into words what the majority
of Congregationalists were feeling, not only at Glasgow
but all over the country. He had had ample oppor-
tunity of judging their sentiments, and he realized that
the occasion called for something more definite and
drastic than a mere agreement to oppose the Act.

" October 7, 1902. — The agitation against the Education
Bill is a tremendous fact. With but little lead from
our political guides, and amid some confusion of tongues
on the part of Nonconformist officials, there has been a
mighty popular uprising which the oldest electioneering
hands assure us is unprecedented. Everywhere the
meetings are magnificent, and the rank and file
enthusiastic and resolute. The chief hero of the fight is
undoubtedly Dr. John Clifford, who has done more than
any other single person to rouse the country. I came
upon him the other day sitting on one of the iron seats
in the Broad Walk in Kensington Gardens writing for
dear life. There was a pile of newspapers at his side, and
he was immersed in correspondence. ' This is my study,'
he said. ' I generally come out here to write.' We
compared notes on the campaign. Leeds, we agreed,
had led the nation ; and the North Leeds by-election,
magnificently won by Mr. Rowland Barran, has been
the feature of the fight so far. Clifford is somewhat
below medium height, and his naturally red hair —
beard and moustache — has turned very grey. He has
one of the most childlike smiles I ever saw, and indeed
is as simple as a child and as guileless. He was rejoicing
over an apology wrung from Lord Halifax, who had ac-
cused him of making an improper use of something Webb
Peploe was reported to have said. Clifford pinned Lord
Halifax down with a printed report of Webb Peploe' s
words, and Lord Halifax withdrew his imputation. It

RELIGION AND POLITICS 131

is not too much to say that the whole country shouted
for joy when our dear old warrior ' came out top,' as the
Americans say. I could indulge in many reminiscences
of the big campaign, for it has been my first opportunity
of proving my platform power throughout the country,
and the result has been somewhat startling to myself.
* I should like to have you on my side in a revolution,'
said Mr. Henry Norman last night. At Glasgow, where
our Congregational Union met this autumn, I intervened
in the Education discussion to move that if the Bill be
forced upon the nation, the assembly would be prepared
to advise its members to refuse to pay the rate. At the
moment of my intervention we were in grave difficulties
over amendments which did not say the one thing it was
in all our hearts to say. My amendment was carried
in tumultuous fashion with only six dissentients. The
superior persons discredit this enthusiasm, but I question
whether they know the intensity of feeling in regard to
this Bill. Anyhow, the Anti-Rate stand adopted by the
Free Church Congress, as well as by the Baptist and
Congregational Unions, is a note of fierce defiance to an
unconventional and unjust Government without a
parallel in our history. The battle will and must go on
now to the bitter end. Mr. Bryce sent me a very cordial
private letter. Indeed, I have been fairly inundated
with them.

' While on my Glasgow travels I spent a day with
Sir Wilfrid Lawson at Brayton, Cumberland, and
addressed a meeting with him at Workington. He was
most entertaining. When I looked at his magnificent
home and estate I could not help thinking that if I had
been born to its inheritance I should probably have
settled down to the pleasant pursuits of a country gentle-
man and the amiable delusions of Tory politics. Instead
of which Sir Wilfrid has chosen, all his life through,
obloquy and persecution and the ' skandalon ' of an
unpopular cause. He is a glorious old warrior. Mr.

132 RELIGION AND POLITICS

Birrell described to me once how he used to be about
the House of Commons long after he ought to have been
in bed, with bloodshot eyes and weary face, but refusing
to go home so long as any battle had to be fought out.
And what a wit he is. ' Have you ever considered,'
he asked me soon after we met, ' the advisability of
having Bradshaw read in the schools without note or
comment ? ' At the meeting he was in rare fighting
form ; and oh, how the men cheered him ! Yet they
ejected him at the last election, more fools they. We
had to drive back some eighteen miles together, and he
waxed very philosophical. He discanted upon the im-
mense monument of human labour to be seen everywhere
in walls and houses and roads. You cannot cast your
eye anywhere that it does not rest on the signs of toil.

" One sign of the revival of the progressive spirit
in the nation is the intense feeling everywhere against
the Government Education Bill for destroying the School
Boards and putting the denominational schools on the
rates. I am in for a big campaign against the Bill, for
I am to speak in the Leeds Coliseum, the Manchester
Town Hall, and the Birmingham Town Hall. I was
honoured with an invitation to speak at Lord Rosebery's
meeting at the Queen's Hall, but it clashes with the Leeds
meeting. The British Weekly . . . has been good
enough to refer to me as incomparably the best platform
speaker among the young Free Church leaders ! This
has apparently been sufficient to ' boom ' me in the
country as a speaker on this subject, and I have been
deluged with letters and telegrams. However, one's
tether is limited after all, and I can only do a certain
amount of stumping ; but it is good work, and I do not
despair of wrecking the Bill yet."

In the early months of the year 1903 it became in-
creasingly evident that the ties which bound Home to
Kensington were being loosened. It was not that there

RELIGION AND POLITICS 183

was any slackening in the loyalty of his people or any
diminution of the success of his work. He was as
happy as he had ever been, but he seems to have begun
to feel that he might be called to some wider service.
His chairmanship of the London Union had given him
the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the needs
of the metropolis. He had made a point of visiting
those parts of the city on which religion has least hold ;
he had faced the problem of the " down town " churches,
and had been greatly impressed by what Newman called
" the dreary hopeless irreligion " of great multitudes of
the people. He was not content with pressing the
problem on his own church and on the denomination.
He began to feel that he must do something himself
towards the solution. So when calls came to him from
Horton Lane, Bradford, and Great George Street, Liver-
pool— both great churches in the midst of a vast non-
churchgoing population, he listened to them with
sympathy, though in the case of neither of them did he
feel that it presented the right kind of opportunity or a
claim that could not be denied. At the same time his
name was being put forward by some of his friends in
the ministry — notably by the Rev. R. J. Campbell — for
the then vacant secretaryship of the Congregational
Union of England and Wales. The union was in process
of remodelling its constitution, and it was felt by many
that a man of Home's calibre, with his youth, enthusiasm,
and personal magnetism, would be able to do great things
in the way of inspiring the churches with a nobler sense
of their mission, and leading them on to a richer cor-
porate life. He soon decided, however, and very
wisely, that this was not the work for which he was best
fitted. His opportunity was not long in coming.

Whitefield's Chapel,1 Tottenham Court Road, had just
become vacant by the resignation of its minister, the
Rev. George Suttle. It is a church that has had a

1 Whitefield's " Tab." was in Old Street, E.C., at that time.

184 RELIGION AND POLITICS

great history for a hundred and fifty years. The present
building is the third to occupy the site which was
originally given by the Countess of Huntingdon to
George Whitefield for his work in London. Among its
ministers have been men like Matthew Wilks, Dr.
Campbell, Dr. Bevan, Thomas Nicholson, and Jackson
Wray. But the church had fallen on evil days. Mr.
Suttle, a man of energy and enthusiasm, had carried
out a great scheme of rebuilding which had exhausted
both his own strength and the resources of the people.
They were left with a crushing debt of some eight
thousand pounds, with which it was quite beyond their
power to cope unaided. It was obviously a case for
some outside body to intervene and take up a burden
too heavy for the individual congregation. The London
Congregational Union became the Deus ex machina
needed to save the situation. They were on the look-
out for opportunities of the kind, and no opportunity
could have been greater. The church occupied a com-
manding position in one of the busiest thoroughfares in
London. Close at hand were five great railway stations,
several large business houses employing large numbers
of young people, and a constantly changing population
living in flats, hotels, lodgings, and boarding-houses.
On the west side were numbers of wealthy families
living in the squares, and on the east a genuinely slum
area inhabited largely by foreigners. It was an admir-
able field for the kind of work done by a central mission,
and the London Union Committee determined to under-
take it whenever they should be able to find the right
kind of leader. They had their eye on Home from the
first, and they approached him about the same time
that he was being asked to consider the secretaryship
of the Congregational Union. Of the two projects
there is no doubt that Whitefield' s was the most attrac-
tive to a man of Home's temperament. He had no
love or aptitude for secretarial work, but about White-

RELIGION AND POLITICS 135

field's there was a spice of romance and adventure which
very strongly appealed to him. He made it a condition
that the London Union should make the mission its
own, and when he found that they were prepared to
back him to the utmost, he hesitated no longer. He
wrote to his wife : —

" My own mind has steadily been inclining to the
Whitefield Tabernacle scheme, as you know. Apart
from all considerations as to the unanimous offer of the
Secretaryship, I feel that it is not my work; and the
other, I think, is. To give a few years to building up
there a great centre of Christian influence and activity,
to release it from its present burdens, and give it new
life and hope and power, would be to spend oneself to
purpose. I think we should all be happy in doing it.
Even the prospect makes me glad. It is work for the
people, in the broadest sense ; and as such it satisfies
my ambition. The Committee, too, to whom I shall
be responsible, consists of my personal friends. There
is not one among them whom I should hesitate to work
with — not one whom I could wish away. I think Mr.
Brown will be as loyal as he is generous. He recognizes
the difficulties, and will not expect the impossible. But
he will back me through thick and thin. I can't say any
more. The wrench of leaving will be very sore; but
I begin to think it will be as much the best for them
as for me. . . ."

The burden of this decision was not lightened by the
death of Home's father, which took place just at this
time. He had been accustomed to look to him for
advice and guidance, and he felt his loss keenly. He
writes just afterwards : —

" I have passed through the most sorrowful and pain-
ful week of my life. Early in the morning of Wednes-

136 RELIGION AND POLITICS

day, March 25, just after midnight, my dear father
breathed his last. The same evening found me in Ken-
sington announcing to a crowded and sympathetic
andience that I had made up my mind to leave Allen
Street and accept the work at Whitefield's Tabernacle.
Mv father's last illness was somewhat prolonged, and for
the last fortnight I was with him most of the time. I
kept the last vigil by his side from 10 to 12 o'clock on the
Tuesday night, and when I left at midnight it was to be
summoned back immediately, for the last change had
come, and he just quickly and painlessly ceased to
breathe. We have been much comforted by the wonder-
ful demonstrations of the love and honour in which he
was held everywhere. I gave a brief address at the
funeral, but no words can ever tell what he was to us
afl. He was so gentle and shy and retiring, and yet
so able aai strong and true. He had known religious
doubt and mastered it, ' and found a nobler faith his
own.' This made one incident of the last days very
wonderful to me. In one of his flashes of consciousness
IK looked up at me and said, ' I want spiritual rest.'
4 Do yon ? ' I asked. ' Yes,' he said ; and then throw-
ing himself back on his pillow, with a look of content
be said, ' And I shall get it.' No one can have seen
him when death had come and not feel that he did
indeed get it. There was a singular look of satisfaction
on his face, and that aspect of wonder and wisdom
which the dead so often wear.

* The decision to leave Kensington has been indeed a
hard one to make. The wrench involved is more painful
than I can put into words."

In the spring of this year also was published the
Popular History of the Free Churches, one of the best bits
of literary work that Home did. It had a great and
immediate success, for it supplied a real want, and sup-
pfied it just in the right way. For some years past Home

RELIGION AND POLITICS 137

had been studying the subject in such spare time as he
could find, and he knew the ground well. But he made
no pretence of original research, and did not pose as an
authority on disputed points. But he produced a vivid,
artless, and convincing story glowing with conviction
and at times even with passion. It appeared at an
opportune moment. Nonconformists were in the throes
of the struggle against the Education Act of 1902, and
it was good for them to be taken back to the " hole
of the pit whence they were digged." They found in
the book a real " tract for the times," and in its author
a leader whom they delighted to honour. For himself
the book was a kind of confession of faith, and will hold
its own for long, not merely as a history of Noncon-
formity, but as a most vivid and intelligent vindication
of Free Church principles and witness.

CHAPTER V

EXTRACTS FROM THE KENSINGTON DIARY

THE following extracts from his diary cover about ten
years of the Kensington ministry, and are full of inter-
esting side-lights on Home's mind and activities during
this period : —

" April 24, 1891. — I have got back from a kind of
preaching tour. Have been to Bristol (Pembroke
Chapel), and preached on the new Puritanism ! Then
to Northampton, where I preached to the Association
in the very chapel where my father was assistant to the
Rev. John Bennett many years ago. Then I went
down to Shifnal to Fred's farm and rusticated for a
couple of days, and on the Sunday went over to Wolver-
hampton and heard Berry preach. He was very ill,
having just passed through a most anxious time in
connection with the Secretaryship of the Congregational
Union. The Committee offered to nominate him.
There was an outcry on the part of a few people, and
Berry has declined nomination. All his honours have
done nothing to spoil him. I stayed with him to
dinner, and had a very festive chat about things in
general.

" On the Monday I spoke at the Jubilee of the Brosely
Chapel ; Dr. Newth l was there. It was his first charge,
and he had hard times there. The place was crowded,
and we had an excellent meeting. I preached the
Jubilee sermon on the Tuesday, and on the Wednesday

1 Principal of New College, London.
138

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 189

preached at home, returning here on Thursday to speak
at the West District Association. So ends my holiday
tour."

" June 5.— I have been preaching in the country a
good deal lately. I find that in a fortnight I have
preached fourteen times and delivered four speeches.
I have been to Hertfordshire, Sussex, Shropshire, and
Huntingdon. Everywhere we have had admirable
meetings. This bringing of the city into relation with
the country is, I am certain, much needed. The gratitude
of the country people is most refreshing. Londoners
are wearied with sermons, but in the country the people
really seem to enjoy them immensely. At St. Ives I
preached to the Huntingdon Association, and had a good
time. I heard from a Miss Goodman an amusing story
of one of her Sunday scholars, who expressed the wish
that a lion would swallow him. When she appeared
surprised and asked him why, he said, ' Because it
would be such a sell for that old lion : he'd think I was
inside him and I should be in Heaven ! '

" Last night I had my first experience of speaking in
Exeter Large Hall. The meeting was on behalf of the
National Refuges. Lord Herschell was in the chair.
All the boys and girls — about 1.000 — were on the large
raised platform behind, and sang and played famously.
The place was too big for me to speak comfortably, and
I did not enjoy it very much. Lord Herschell seems a
delightfully genial and fine man. He is the son of a
Congregational minister."

" July 31. — This diary is spasmodic. Since I last
wrote the International Council of Congregationalists
has been held in London. There were representatives
from all lands. The Americans were particularly
interesting. I was on the ' Press ' part of the time,
writing an occasional sketch of a meeting for the
Independent and a general account for the Sydney
Morning Herald.

140 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

" Since then I have been down to spend a couple of
days with Mrs. Raleigh at her home near Tring. Mr.
Tom Raleigh,1 of All Souls, Oxford, was there. He is a
very interesting fellow, exceptionally clever. At first
his reserved manner almost distresses one, but after the
ice is broken he becomes the most genial of companions,
overflowing with interesting conversation. In the
evening, when Mrs. Raleigh suggested a game of Halma,
he remarked dryly, ' It always seems to me a waste of
time to play games when you might do nothing.' He
has written two or three books on law and politics. He
is a strong Unionist.

"Last Wednesday I was down at a country anni-
versary in Clavering, Essex. We began the afternoon
service in remarkable fashion by a laudable but hardly
successful effort to sing a long-metre hymn to a common-
metre tune. The choir did their best, and manifested an
ingenuity in the curtailment of the long lines that was
worthy of all encouragement. Still their most enthusi-
astic admirers could only describe the effort as a qualified
success. I told Mr. Walker about it, and he said it
reminded him of a certain lady organist who was a
sempstress, and who, when the congregation did not
know a short-metre tune for a short-metre hymn, chose
a long metre tune, but said to the choir, ' I am afraid
this tune is too long for the words : we must put a tuck
in it.' Which she proceeded to do, with gratifying
results."

" September 14. — My holiday is over. I have preached
again in my own church, and had an enthusiastic wel-
come. It is good to be loved. It makes all hard work and
difficulty worth while. I must confide in my diary and
tell some of the memorable things of my holiday. How I
enjoyed it, to be sure ! Talk about school-boys let loose
from school ! It is nothing to a minister let loose from
all engagements for a whole five or six weeks. And then

1 The late Sir Thomas Raleigh.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 141

Norway ! Was ever air so sweet, people so ideal, and
hills so grand ! Crossing the North Sea is, I confess, no
joke. To subsist for the greater part of two days on
the lesser part of one biscuit ! But it's all the same an
hour after landing. The Fjords cannot be overpraised.
I only wish we had had more time for them. But
perhaps next year we may get back again.

" From Norway to North Wales. This was a very
remarkable part of my holiday. I stayed in Llanfair-
fechan with Mrs. Rylands. Mrs. R. is a millionaire widow.
She had an enormous castle there, and a party of some
sixteen friends. I went in fear and trembling, but it
was quite needless. She was kindness itself. A more
delightfully homely and hospitable person I have never
met. She seems to live for other people. What do you
think of this ? She takes a pseudonym and goes down
to Dorset as Mrs. Farmer to visit the poor ministers.
She proceeds to act the good fairy. Libraries begin to
appear in meagrely furnished studies, comforts of various
kinds, and all from the same mysterious donor. There
is some trouble in that sort of charity. It is not charity
by cheque, of which beware ! There I met a delightful
fellow, Arnold Green — son of Dr. Green, of the Religious
Tract Society. A great invalid and lame, but so witty
and bright and good. We shall hope to meet often in
London. How we behaved I am almost ashamed to
think. The riotous fun of that assembly ! It was
indeed a good time. From Llanfairfechan to Dolgelly
to visit the Fordhams. Climbed Cader, of course, and
saw over the gold mines — this latter a somewhat rare
privilege. They seem to find gold. But in what
quantities was not so obvious. From Dolgelly to the
Isle of Man, to preach on the Sunday. We had a
frightful passage. The waves swept the decks, but
I would not go below. In consequence landed at
Douglas saturated but chirpy. Had very good con-
gregations and a good time. Then home to Newport,

142 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

where I preached at the anniversary, and then back
here. . . .

" I had a very remarkable talk with Dr. Dale yester-
day afternoon. He is just recovering from what threat-
ened at one time to be a fatal illness. I shall never
forget how he told me that as he realized the danger
there was an entire absence of agitation, but with it an
almost entire absence of conscious sense of the Divine
Presence. He tried to fall back on the Brotherhood of
our Lord, but still there was no conscious help. Then
he turned to him as Lord, and then, he says, * the strength
came.' Dr. Dale says he was very much struck with
the wonderful support derived from the more 'austere
aspect ' of Christ's character."

" September 18. — I had a singular difficulty presented
to me last night for decision. It came from . . . who
recently joined our Church. She is a Board School
teacher in a very good position, and a young woman
of very remarkable force of character. She began her
training by going to a very High Church training college.
There she was made to take a vow never to enter a
Nonconformist chapel. When she came to Kensington
and under the influence of my Guild, she was led to see
that the promise was a base one, and she wrote and told
them that she was not going to be bound by it. Soon
after she joined us. Her difficulty now is this. Under
the laws of the Board no teacher must administer corporal
punishment. As a matter of fact, all the teachers do —
feeling, she says, compelled by the class of children they
have to deal with. She herself does it in very extreme
cases : and says she knows it would be wrong for the
faults of the children to go unpunished, and this is the
only way of punishing them possible. At the same time,
she feels she is not keeping her contract with the Board.
And as she would be liable to a fine if reported upon, she
feels as if she were lowering herself. Now she has
applied for and is likely to be appointed to the head

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 143

mistress- ship of a small country Church school. It
would be a great, sacrifice pecuniarily and from the point
of view of her own tastes and future prospects. Yet she
is quite willing to do this if it is right. The question is
a nice one. Is she sufficiently keeping the spirit of the
Board's regulation ? Or ought she to leave for con-
science' sake ? It is one of those questions people must
fight out for themselves. Of course a less spiritually
sensitive person would never be troubled by the matter.
But she is a very fine Christian. There is still a possi-
bility that when the managers of this Church school hear
from her that she is a Congregationalist, she will not get
the post. [She did not get it.]

" Congregationalists are at a very critical period.
Our whole method of management is being severely
scrutinized in our religious papers. The question of the
villages and small towns is a severe one. But our main
difficulty is the want of leadership. . . . and . . . are
both impossible. Oh for an hour of Dr. Dale ! Then,
too, there is a kind of ring of Congregational ministers
. . . who object apparently to all officials, and whose
idea seems to be, as Mr. Walker says, that one man is as
good as another, and has no business to be better."

" December 30. — This eventful year for me is waning
fast. I should be inclined to say, ' Old year, you must
not go,' but for the fact that the New Year promises to
be a happier and better one still. ... I am about to
make my first literary venture. Not much is likely to
come of it except a wider introduction to people and a
few pounds out of my pocket. I am going to call the
book Discipline and Discipleship. It will deal with
the sterner and austerer aspects of God's love, and the
beneficence of God's law. It is nearly ready for the
press.

" Since I last wrote in this diary Sir Risdon Bennett
has passed away. He was for five years the President
of the Royal College of Physicians, a very learned man

144 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

and a most noble and beautiful character. I saw a good
deal of him, as he used constantly to come into the vestry
after the morning service and exchange a few words.
On one occasion I remember I had preached a sermon
on Dr. Dale's book The Living Christ and the Four Gospels,
and he came in to thank me and to say how convinced he
was that the defence of the Revelation must in future
take that form. On another occasion I had in my
children's sermon told a story of the wonderful instinct
of pigeons. He came in full of interest to tell me he
could beat my stories completely. And then he told
me some astounding facts. He was very tender-hearted,
and I shall never forget how distressed he was one
Sunday morning when he came in before the service to
see me. He drew the door to behind him, and then told
me that he had been sent by the Government to examine
a Mrs. Pearcy, the Hampstead murderess, to see if she
was insane. He had been unable to recommend her
pardon on this ground, and he told me how all her features
were good except her mouth, and how quiet and self-
possessed she seemed. The whole business had greatly
moved him. We had a little difference once at his house,
when he strongly condemned the advocacy of such
controversial subjects as disestablishment in the pulpit.
I asked him if he did not feel that it was possible in the
pulpit to vindicate those positive truths on which the
solution of this question depends and show their full
bearing in a way you could not on a secular platform.
I have often marvelled since at his deference to the
opinion of a youngster like myself, but he answered at
once emphatically, ' Yes, that is most important.' I
conducted the funeral service at the New Weigh House
Chapel. It was most impressive, and there was a very
large and distinguished body of physicians and others
present to do him honour."

"January 13, 1892. — We have begun another year.
At a most impressive Church meeting on the last night

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 145

in 1891 we received some seventeen new members with
great joy and much prayer. A very full and hearty
prayer-meeting at eight o'clock on New Year's morning
auspiciously inaugurated 1892. May the same earnest
spirit accompany us all through the year."

" We had a most energetic ' Fraternal ' the other day
at Newman Hall's. The brethren turned up in force, and
the subject was the Call of Abraham. I do not think I
ever saw so clearly before the immense advantage the
friends of the Higher Criticism have in dealing with the
Old Testament. They derive precisely the same spiritual
inspiration, and they are not fettered by the necessity
for continual straining after harmonies that are, it seems
to me, impossible. The Higher Criticism affords a
perfectly candid and satisfactory explanation of literary
difficulties, and surrenders nothing of spiritual and moral
teaching."

"February 4, 1892. — On Sunday, the last day of
January, Mr. Spurgeon died. We prayed for him in
church that evening. On the very evening that he died
I was preaching a special sermon on Cardinal Manning,
whose death took place a fortnight before, on the same
day as that of the young Duke of Clarence. So the
angel of death has indeed been abroad in the land. I
met Mr. Spurgeon only once, at Hackney College anni-
versary. The main impression, next to his kindliness
to so young a man as myself, was of the evident suffering
he endured. I never saw a face that suggested so
much of suffering. Both on that occasion and when I
heard him preach at Netting Hill there was an amazing
fertility of illustration, almost amounting in parts to
anecdotage."

" March 2. — . . . We are now going through a series
of long dinners. Personally I hate them. They seem to
me to be mainly occasions on which you eat a great many
things you don't want to and say a great many things
you don't mean. Their main value is in the testimony
10

146 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

to the real kindness of people — but I hope the day will
come when they will show it in a better way."

" March 12. — I am afraid I am in for some fighting.
The London Union is certainly in extremis. By the
abolition of the principle of co-optation we have already
lost the services of some of the most competent and
devoted friends of the Union. At our West District
meeting for the election of members to the Council we
unanimously carried a resolution in favour of the restora-
tion of this principle. I was asked to move it at the
annual meeting of the London Union, and have agreed
to do so. ... I am quite prepared to believe there must
be a sharp battle. It is not pleasant to contemplate
fighting with brethren, but it must clearly be dared this
time, and so I do not mind."

" March 24. — . . . Yielding to the urgent solicitations
of Alfred Rowland,1 who is President of the London
Union, and entirely agrees with me as to the co-optation
principle,! have written to withdraw the notice of motion.
He felt very strongly that it had better stand over and
that a defeat just now would mean even more serious
embarrassments than we have to face already. I am
inclined to think that he is wrong and that the delay will
do us more harm, but my respect for him has prevailed
over my own judgment."

" April 20. — About a fortnight ago I paid a visit one
Sunday to Halifax. Robert Horton was staying there
also, and so we spent a good part of the Monday together,
at the house of Mrs. Oakes, whom he has known from
boyhood. Eric Lawrence, the minister of Square Church,
Halifax, was with us. Lawrence is one of the most
honest thinkers I have ever met, with a very large grip
of things. We had a most interesting discussion on
Revelation — a subject on which Horton is writing a book.
The book in question will probably be a great shock to
the Evangelicals, as I should gather Horton will deny

1 The Rev. Dr. A. Rowland, minister at Crouch End.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 147

a place in the Canon to Esther, Ecclesiastes, and possibly
the Song of Solomon. We discussed the larger Bible of
Revelation, which can never be gathered into any single
volume. I remember well, as we came back from our
walk to the house, Horton, in velveteen coat and vest,
stood on the steps and Lawrence and I on the walk, and
how we continued the discussion in the twilight, Horton
mystical and yet rationalistic as ever — so sure of the
deepest truths as to be careless of the mere letter, like
a man content to throw away the wrappings of some
valuable parcel when he has secured the thing contained.
And then how full of fun he was, brimming over with
stories, and overflowing with pretty expressions of
love to Mrs. Oakes' little girl. He is certainly one
of the most fascinating figures of the present day,
and one would not like to say how far he will go
or how splendidly he will ' arrive ' — as Browning used
to say.

" Darlow's Committee l is also an interesting study of
personages. There is Evan Spicer, the present Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer to the London County Council,
a very keen, shrewd, and withal kindly man, who holds
so many strings that one wonders he does not pull the
wrong ones oftener than he does. He . . . has planted
Polytechnics in London in an almost miraculous manner,
and is probably the most successful appealer to London
generosity that there is. Then Arnold Pye-Smith, a
capable administrator and most generous giver, very
tall and wearing a blue riband, solicitous that Darlow
should have what he wants.2 Con way, an enthusiastic
young Cambridge don, with not a particle of pessimism
in him, viewed somewhat with alarm by these cautious
business men. And amid it all Darlow flinging in an
epigram whenever the opportunity arises — otherwise

1 The committee of Browning Hall Settlement, Walworth, of which
Mr. Darlow was warden.

* Now Professor Conway, of Manchester,

148 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

compiling industrious minutes, and one trusts endeavour-
ing to resist the temptation to allegorize the practical
features of the discussion."

" May 2. — Since I wrote, Dr. Henry Allon has died.
His death was startlingly sudden. It was hardly death
at all, but a passing. Few figures were more widely
known among Nonconformists. His hair was snow-
white and his face very noble and finely chiselled. Three
or four days before his death he dined with us at the
Sub Rosa,1 and was quite himself — genial and cheery.
He came specially to introduce his co-pastor — now so
speedily become his successor — W. H. Harwood. It
was delightful to hear Har wood's affectionate and proud
references to Dr. Allon. Just as I was leaving Dr. Allon
called me back and shook hands, and said, ' I'm coming
to preach for you soon.' How little we know the times
and seasons ! One of the most memorable times of my
life was when on one occasion I had preached a missionary
sermon at Union Chapel. Dale was present, and took
me home to Dr. Alion's to lunch. Soon Dr. Allon came
in. He had been preaching at the City Temple. Then
Dale and Allon smoked, and as they said initiated me
into the history of my forefathers. The old divines of
the denomination were passed in review, and many were
the anecdotes related. Allon in old days wrote the Life of
Sherman, a celebrated Congregational preacher, to whom
Dale traced his own conversion. The story is a very
good one.8 Sherman was preaching, and suddenly Dale
says he forgot preacher and audience and everything. A
thought had come to him and opened up the new world
and the new life. He went out of the chapel a changed
man — hardly knowing why. The sequel is interesting.
For years Dale did not hear Sherman again. Then he
took advantage of an opportunity, and went with great
expectation. He was pitiably disillusioned. In the

1 A social club of London ministers.
» Cf. Life of Dr. Dale, p. 16.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 149

course of the sermon Sherman, speaking of Christ, said,
* Are you fond of animals ? — He's the Lion of the tribe
of Judah ! Are you fond of flowers ? — He's the Rose
of Sharon ! Are you fond of precious stones ? — He's
the Pearl of great price ! ' and so on, ad lib. And to
this man the great change in his life was due ! It was
strange.

" I spoke the other day at the annual meeting of the
Baptist Missionary Society at Exeter Hall. It was a
great gathering. I have often said hard things of the
acoustic properties of Exeter Hall, but on this occasion
it seemed to be quite easy to speak. I remember once
saying to Horton that the atmosphere of Exeter Hall
was so heavy with a kind of malarial Evangelicalism
that good sound heresy wouldn't travel ! He laughed,
but on the whole confirmed the assertion. The Baptists
are raising a large Centenary fund. This year is the
100th year of their society. By the bye, the L.M.S.
income has gone up £38,000 in one year — owing to the
Forward Movement. God is indeed reminding us that
we must live and move and have our being in Him. So
many people seem to live and have their being, who
don't move"

" September 15. — I have been married more than a
month : our honeymoon is over, and we are * home ' at
last. I suppose other people may have felt the peculiar
joy that we have felt, but it is difficult to concede so
much. . . . After all joy is a good thing. Sorrow is
said to be a good thing for us, and no doubt is;
but joy is good and love is good. And God will
keep us from selfishness if we rejoice and live in
Him.

" A very different event must be told now, showing
how strangely chequered our lives are. When we arrived
and were in the first ecstasy of delight, I found a letter
from Mr. . . . resigning . . . and leaving the Church.
This event was not altogether unexpected, still it was

150 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

a saddening one. The fact remains that I am the cause
of his leaving, and severing his connection and breaking
his old cherished ties. I suppose we are hopelessly apart
in matters, or rather in modes, of thought. And that is
the curious thing that it has been the manner, not the
matter, of thought that has been in question. The
sorrowful part to me is, of course, that it is a proof that
I have not succeeded in my aims of being so catholic
in my preaching as to appeal to all types of mind and
schools of thought. Well, may God give me more
grace and make me more able for this ministry. May
such wholesome thoughts be the outcome of this
discipline.

*' My brother-in-law, Willie Cozens- Hardy, with whom
I did a good deal of political speaking at Oxford, is
certainly remarkable for his love of travelling into
unexplored regions. Montenegro and Dalmatia are
happy hunting grounds of his. The mosques and their
priests, the churches and their Archimandrites, are all
known to him. He reappears after a holiday with a
certain indefinable flavour of the Eastern Question.
He is especially surprised at those of us who prefer to
see one spot well in our holidays than to calculate
blessedness by the number of leagues we have journeyed
and the degree of barbarism that prevails among the
people we have visited. . . .

" Lord Tennyson is dead, and we are all in inward
mourning. Strange how such a recluse was so beloved
by the people. But his language was clear and beautiful,
and his heart was shown enough to elicit the love and
the trust of men. I preached a sermon to show how he
was the poet of death, and read some simple illustrations.
The effect was very remarkable. I was reading just a line
or two out of the May Queen, and I happened to look
down at one in the congregation who is not easily
moved. He was choking. The simplicity and tender
pathos of the lines were very moving.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 151

" We are all discussing the new Laureate — who is
he to be ? Our choice will certainly not be the one
made. We believe in William Watson, and anticipate
a greatness for him that will quite outrival his con-
temporaries ! Such fine touches as abound in the
little he has published prove him to possess the poet's
soul."

" January 16, 1893. — The great sensation among us
lately has been the proposal to ask Horton to go to
Westminster Chapel and lead a forward movement on
behalf of all the Churches of London. The circumstances
are certainly striking. After a week of prayer that God
would teach us our duty in view of the needs of London
to-day, this great opportunity presented itself. West-
minster Chapel stands near the centre of our national
life. It is the largest chapel in the denomination. It
has admirable buildings attached. Around it lie both
rich and poor : there are mansions and slums in equal
numbers. We have been feeling our way gradually
towards some focusing of our scattered and isolated
Independent Churches ; some gathering up of our
thought and feeling and faith and expressing of it in a
more representative and powerful way than we are at
present able to do. Now there is no man, as we all feel,
who is so much the personification of the genius of
Congregationalism as Robert Horton. Hence here are
the place and the man apparently waiting to be married
by the consent and at the bidding of all the other
Churches of London. At present we are in the position
of being about to taste the feeling of our various churches
to ascertain if it is their wish that Horton should be asked
to go. He naturally wishes to dissociate his own
name from the movement. But we all feel we cannot
present a scheme to the Churches ; we want a living
personality."

" February 7. — Dr. Stoughton has just been in to see
us. He is 85 years of age, but full of interesting

152 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

reminiscences. He spoke of his friendship for Matthew
Arnold. * He was a good fellow,' he said, * but oh, as
I used to tell him, what fights I had with my brethren
to get them to think so ! I used to say to them, " You
look at Matthew Arnold through his books : but I look
at his books through Matthew Arnold, and that makes all
the difference." ' It seems that once Dr. Stoughton said
to Dean Stanley, ' You know I am not a person of great
learning.' ' No,' said the Dean, ' Matthew Arnold tells me
the same thing. " You are not a man of great learning,"
he says, " but you are a man of extensive information."
Tap Dr. Stoughton on the subject of the old members
of the ' Sub Rosa,' and he flows freely. I can see he
has his suspicions that there are no men of equal
character living to-day. He delights to tell of a certain
old minister, who edited John Owen's works, who used
to say with delicious frankness, ' Well, I have emptied
two meeting-houses, and by the help of Providence I
think I see my way, if I am spared, to empty a third.'
The Evangelical Magazine, which Dr. Stoughton edited
for some fifteen years, exists to help by its profits the
widows of ministers. The ' staff ' dine together once
a year, and Dr. Stoughton tells how James Parsons,
in his after-dinner speech, would humorously say that
it was difficult to reconcile his conscience to the
entertainment, for he * always felt that he was devouring
widows' houses.'

" Horton, I fear, has quite decided not to leave
Hampstead. The pressure brought to bear upon him by
his church has availed to persuade him that it cannot
be his duty to go. If that is his settled conviction,
he is a fixture for life : for obviously the time will never
come when his church will be anxious for him to leave.
Anyhow, for the present we must abandon our idea of a
large central movement."

" June 1893. — Another long gap in my diary. Events
have moved rapidly, though they have not provoked me

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 158

to chronicle them. The House of Commons has been
engaged in a deadly struggle to force the Home Rule Bill
through Committee. After weeks and weeks of talk and
divisions they have wrestled their way up to the fifth
clause, and the Government majority holds together
magnificently. Meanwhile domestic interests outweigh
for me the most tremendous national ones. . . . Nothing
in life is so strangely and deliciously true as the capacity
of love's expansion. You think at marriage you have
tasted the utmost delights of it. You cannot conceive
that it can ever be more ravishing. You are prepared
for some depreciation of intensity when it becomes the
constant element in which life is lived. But so far is
this from being true that each new day you awake to a
richer content of your love — you rejoice over some new
satisfaction in it.

" It is curious that I should not have written anything
in my diary about our celebration of the Centenary of
Kensington Chapel, or the Tercentenary of the Congre-
gational Martyrs Barrowe, Greenwood, and Penry. In
commemoration of the latter the Congregational Union
issued a series of tracts, and I wrote one on the Separ-
atists in the Universities. For this I had the honour
of being roundly abused in the Church Times. They
did not accuse my accuracy, but only my conclusions.
I wrote a somewhat fiery reply to them in the
Independent, and the controversy ceased. On April 8
we had a mass meeting in Hyde Park, attended by
some 15,000 people, mainly young Congregationalists.
Pierce, Mearns, and I did most of the organizing, and
the assembly was a gigantic success."

" September 1894. — We have had a remarkable
struggle in London over the election of the School Board.
The old Board had endeavoured to upset the existing
compromise on the subject of religious teaching. Led
by Mr. Athelstan Riley, the Board decided to issue
a circular to all the teachers instructing what Christian

154 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

doctrines they were to teach, defining the Trinity, and
so on. At this there was naturally a great uproar.
Nearly all the press took the side of the teachers against
the Board. For more than a year the struggle went on,
growing in bitterness week by week. Then the election
came ; and it was very curious to see how we fought
on the old Catholic and Protestant lines. Our side urged
that the Bible should be trusted to tell its own story
and teach its own doctrines. Their side said, No,
it needs to be explained by a circular. In the end our
men were returned by tremendous majorities all over
London, but by the absurd cumulative vote system we
have not quite secured a majority on the Board. But
we have effectually cut their claws.

" The autumnal meetings of the Congregational Union
were held at Liverpool. As President of the Guilds'
Union, I had to take the chair at the Guilds' meeting.
But the more formidable necessity was to speak at a vast
Centenary meeting of the L.M.S. in the Philharmonic
Hall, which was crowded with 4,000 people."

" March 1895. — A good deal of time has recently been
consumed in a tour for the L.M.S. The largest meeting
of the tour was the one held in the Free Trade Hall,
Manchester, where some 6,000 people were present.
The meeting was, I think, a success. Gibbon l was there,
and delivered what was certainly a brilliant speech,
scintillating with wit and illustration. I got through,
but not having had time to prepare elaborately, I did
not get on so well as I might have done. Since this
meeting I have been to Manchester again, for the
Guilds, and have had a notable experience. Percy
Alden was in the north at the time, sounding a few
people as to a new scheme for building residences in
connection with Mansfield House. The residences are
indispensable. We must have them. The only question
was whether now is the best time. Well, he asked me
1 The Rev. J. Morgan Gibbon, of Stamford Hill.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 155

whether I thought he might come up and put the case
before Mrs. Rylands. I said yes ; and when I told her,
she expressed herself as glad that I had done so. In due
time Alden arrived, and we had our interview. Percy
stated his case admirably, and I could see at once that
he had made a good impression and that she liked him.
Suddenly he made his plunge. He said it had entered
into his mind that Mrs. Rylands might like to build the
residences herself. It was a bold but excellently planned
manoeuvre. She gave a little laugh, and I threw out
the remark that Alden was a modest man. For just
one moment I thought she was going to do the business.
Then in her most kind and gracious way she turned to
Alden and said she did not suppose he knew how full
her hands were just now ; but she was much interested,
and — she would give him two thousand pounds ! —
I nearly got up and executed a schottische ! "

" May 1895. — I have recently had a very nasty ner-
vous breakdown. I was first conscious that something
was wrong about April 7, when I had considerable diffi-
culty in getting through the service at night. On the
14th, the day before my thirtieth birthday, I collapsed.
How I got through in the morning I hardly know, but
it was by dint of hanging on to the pulpit with both
hands. At night a student preached, and next day I
went away to Cromer. There I stayed for three Sundays,
and have only been able to take one service a Sunday
since. As yet I have by no means got back my tone,
but I am greatly better, and I think steadily mending.
My people have been more than kind : they have over-
whelmed me with demonstrations of their love and good-
ness. The moral seems to be that the pace has been too
great, and that for a time I must be content to rest
on my oars and only give an indolent tug or two
occasionally."

" June 1895. — A very remarkable story comes from
Oxford, which should have peculiar interest for the

156 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

author of A Modern Heretic. It concerns first of all a
Mr. R. J. Campbell, who was sent up to Christ Church by
his parents to read for orders. He came of good family,
and his force of character won for him a prominent
position at Ch. Ch. as President of the ' Cabinet Club.'
He seems to have exercised a remarkable influence over
the men with whom he came in contact ; in fact, his
influence has been compared to that of Wesley. After
two years or so he came to the conclusion that he could
not honestly enter the English Church. His parents
were furious, and he had much to bear from his friends ;
but he remained firm. On one occasion when down at
Brighton, he was asked to take a service at Union Con-
gregational Chapel. He did so, and the people were
greatly impressed. They pressed him to preach again,
but he refused, saying that he had not made up his mind,
and it would be unfair to them to encourage hopes that
might come to nothing. So he returned to his work
at Oxford. Among those over whom he had a great
influence was a young fellow named H., the son of
a reputed millionaire in Liverpool. He had been sent
to Oxford to read for politics. At Ch. Ch. he was every-
thing that was rowdy and dissipated, but coming under
the influence of Campbell he became a changed man, and
soon began to think of a religious life such as Campbell
seemed likely to embrace. His parents laughed the
proposal to scorn, and told him that they would have no
nonsense. He had been educated for politics, and into
politics he must go. So things went on, until just before
the end of their course Campbell called a number of his
friends together and reminded them that they had
arrived at a time when their life work must be decided
upon. He proposed that they should hold a prayer-
meeting. They consented, and a very wonderful meeting
was held in C.'s rooms. At the end H. rose and an-
nounced his determination to go straight home to his
parents. He went, laid the whole matter before them,

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 157

and to his great delight they consented. They returned
with him to Oxford, where they had an opportunity of
hearing Campbell preach on Sunday in the Wesleyan
Chapel. At the end of the service they told their son
they could wish nothing better than that he should be a
man like that. If he embraced a similar career he should
not suffer financially, but should have all the money he
needed. Well, the end of the matter was that Campbell
preached again at Brighton, and was unanimously and
enthusiastically called to the ministry. H. wrote to
the church and said that he was anxious not to leave
Campbell, and offered to become assistant at his own
charges and to undertake any mission work for which he
might be deemed fitted. These two young men are to
be ordained on July 11. I was asked to take part in
the service, but expect to be out of England at the time.
One who heard Campbell preach told me he was like
one of the Passionist Fathers ! . . ."

" September 1895. — My holiday this year has been a
long one — two whole months spent in Norway and Nor-
folk. To Norway I went with Johnnie Fordham, a
most delightful companion, of refreshing vivacity and
unconventionality. He is a regular boy, and his over-
flowing spirits made him exceedingly popular with
everybody. Oh, but all the charms of Norway do not
compensate for the absence of dearer charms ; and it was
like returning to Paradise must be to angels who have
been visiting fair spots on earth."

" New Year, 1896. — My wife's grandmother, Mrs.
Hepburn, died at the phenomenal age of 95, and then my
grandfather, Mr. Simpson, died aged 83. Both grand-
parents were born on the 5th of November, a somewhat
curious coincidence. I cannot help thinking that my
grandfather was a very remarkable man, and that we
all who are so fortunate as to be his descendants owe
much to him. A poor lad, he worked his way up to be
Superintendent of the Government Tobacco Warehouses

158 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

in Liverpool, the largest warehouses of the kind in the
world. This was a post of great responsibility, and the
way in which he entered upon it may be judged from the
fact that while up to that time he had been a considerable
smoker, he forswore tobacco henceforth. This was to
avoid even the appearance of being likely to use the
warehouses to fill his own pipe. He was almost or quite
the best company I ever met, and when he was well he
enjoyed a good story with immense zest. He had a
natural gift of exaggeration — perhaps I ought to say imag-
ination. His stories grew in the handling, and we boys
always used to be on the qui vive to note the additions to
an old friend. It is curious to reflect how much of the
development of Liverpool and the whole Transatlantic
trade was covered by my grandfather's life. He lived
from early days on the southern side of the Mersey, and
used to cross to business in an open boat. The steam-
ship was yet to come. He was also present at the open-
ing of the first railway, and used to describe graphically
the tragic death of Mr. Huskisson. Intensely alive, he
never missed being present at any important function,
the inauguration of any new enterprise.

" Another remarkable characteristic was his insatiable
curiosity. I mean this in the best sense. He would
know the insides of things as well as the outsides. He
went through life a learner — disciple to the humblest
and poorest who had anything to teach him, ' hearing
them and asking them questions.' Sailors were
especial favourites, and of course he was much thrown
among them. The consequence was that he had an
immense store of miscellaneous information, especially
on two great main lines, scientific and geographical.
He lost a lot of money on shares in new inventions of a
scientific character : when these shares were examined
after his death nearly all the ideas were good ones. As
for his purse, it was always open to help on any
likely lad who seemed to have a gift of any kind.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 159

Scores of men in good positions to-day look back with
gratitude to his ready help at the time of their early
struggles.

" He had a great gift in Sunday-school addresses.
We used to say the morals of some of these addresses
were not quite obvious. But they were vivid beyond de-
scription. Intensely dramatic, he would make the scene
he was describing thrillingly real, and would often
heighten the appeal by dropping suddenly into the first
person singular, and ' identifying himself with the hero
of the story ' as it was once put. This gave him, I
believe, an awful place in the regard of some of the
children, who really thought he had himself sustained
amazing and heartrending adventures.

" Surely one of the most interesting things to parents
must be the introduction of their children to biblical
and kindred books. My little Dorothy is just at this
fascinating stage. She has an inherited love for the
Pilgrim's Progress, and is never tired of following the
progress of Christian. Some of the questions she asks
are by no means easy to answer so as to assist her com-
prehension. ' What's in that bundle ? ' she demanded
as soon as she saw it. My wife invented an answer that
was certainly very subtle. ' His old clothes,' she said.
If the reference was to his old discarded habits and views
it was a good reply. Dorothy was much concerned for
poor Christian when he lost his bundle. She evidently
felt he would be inconsolable, and found it difficult
to sympathize with his obvious delight. You can never
tell beforehand what view children will take. I showed
her a picture of Joseph being put in the pit, and said,
' Would Dorothy like to be put in that dark hole ? ' ' Yes,'
she said at once with the greatest gusto ; and seemed
disappointed that I carried the proposal no further. In
talking to children, too, you have to use great contrasts
of light and shade. People are either good or naughty.
Dorothy has no opinion of anyone who is not either one

160 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

or the other. You must be able without hesitation to
assign them to one of these two categories. She is of
course perfectly orthodox as to the desirability of being
good. Judas and the Sanhedrim were all described
to her as being naughty. ' Isn't it sad ? ' she said.
And indeed she seemed to think so."

" March 16, 1896. — This day is likely to be a very
black-letter one in my calendar. This morning, in com-
pany with Dr. Batten and my brother Fred, I waited
on Dr. Goodhart, one of the leading London physicians,
at his house in Portland Place. Dr. Goodhart is a very
fine-looking man, and his manner impresses you with
confidence. He made a very minute and prolonged
examination of me, and pronounced emphatically that
there was no disease anywhere traceable. Arguing
from this that my nervous exhaustion was due to
over-strain, he ordered twelve months' entire cessation
from public work. Dr. Batten entirely confirms this
judgment ; and consequently I had no alternative
but to sit down and write my resignation to the
church."

" April 15, 1897. — To-day I am thirty-two years old,
and the last two years have been somewhat painful ones,
despite all the sunshine that has come in to them from
the love of friends. It is far from easy to acquiesce in
a medical verdict which would impose upon one that
very hardest of all duties — the duty of half-a-life. It
is curious how hard such duty seems. In a sense it
means relief from many obligations and burdens : but
it means also discontinuance of work which has come
to be dear as life itself. And this at thirty-two ! How-
ever, it is open to me to disbelieve the doctors. I have
never before felt how great is the relief of unbelief —
downright, indomitable scepticism. Certainly faith in
this instance is associated with the paralysis of life, and
unbelief with its fulfilment.

" Do I intend to rebel against these medical wiseacres ?

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 161

Not at present. I am back at work, and I intend to go
along quietly and see how I get along. But it is on the
carpet that I may kick if their government becomes too
benevolent and paternal."

" Friday, August 13, 1897. — I bought this diary to-day
at Whiteley's, my old one being now full, and I write
these few lines just by way of inauguration. It is a
genuine pleasure to me to write in my diary, though I
refuse to feel compelled to write at regular periods.
Why does the flesh rebel against necessity, when itself
is compassed about with necessities which it cheerfully
and gratefully fulfils ? Anyhow, to add to life's neces-
sities seems to be a mistake. It is to provoke opposition
and defiance. Now I do not want the flesh or the spirit
to rebel against diary-keeping ; so I try to harmonize
the recreation with my moods, and thus secure it as a
solace and refreshment, not a task or unwelcome
duty.

" By the bye, I perpetrated an epistolary impertinence
last week, publicly expressing my own lack of confidence
in Sir William Harcourt as a Liberal leader ; and indeed
the whole Front Bench is a broken reed. The facts are
these. A House of Commons Committee sat for enquiry
into these tangled South African affairs. The revelations
made were very painful, especially in connection with
Mr. Rhodes ; but the revelations made only pointed to
worse ones that might be made. Hereupon the Com-
mittee seems to have resolved to hush up the whole
affair. Chamberlain managed things with a high hand,
as usual ; and to the utter dismay of the Liberal Party
Sir William Harcourt and other Liberal representatives
on the Committee acquiesced. The Report of the Com-
mittee convicted Rhodes of the most execrable offences
against this country — sheer treason in fact ; nevertheless,
Chamberlain actually got up in the House and declared
that Rhodes' personal ' honour ' was unstained. This
extraordinary assertion was left unchallenged by the
11

162 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

Front Opposition Bench. I wrote to the Independent, I
confess in much heat, to protest that as Liberals we had
been betrayed by our Leaders. Harcourt emphatically
supported Chamberlain ; and the latter whitewashed
and indeed glorified Rhodes — a man

' Whose honour rooted in dishonour stood
While faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.'

All the Press is against the Liberal leaders, and Non-
conformists are generally indignant. Over seventy
Liberal Members of Parliament voted against their
leaders in the House of Commons debate."

" September 8, 1897. — The beginning of our holiday
this year was spent at Letheringsett, and one of the
special attractions was the presence of Dr. Ray Palmer. l
I think the more one sees of Dr. Palmer the more one
is impressed by him. He is a man who has been through
experiences that we on this side of the Atlantic can
scarcely credit. For instance, having had a breakdown
in health on leaving college, he went as tutor to a planter's
children. When the planter was away from home he
was left in charge, and had to run the slave plantation.
This position soon brought him into conflict with the
overseers ; and he told us an almost inconceivable tale
of how an overseer tried to shoot down one of the hands,
because the man had refused to beat his own wife.
Ray Palmer faced the overseer with a loaded pistol and
saved the man's life ; but the planter remonstrated subse-
quently with him for ' interfering with discipline.' Dr.
Palmer's stories of the Civil War are most graphic and
thrilling. I think I shall never forget the account he
gave us one night of Gettysburg, and some other fights.
He himself was drafted for service, and was about to
give up his church and go, when the church— unknown
to him— petitioned for his discharge on the ground

1 An American Congregational minister, author of some well-known
hymns.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 163

that no one would be left in the district to bury the
dead.

" We had a visit at Letheringsett from Captain Kane,
who earned much kudos from the way in which he
brought the man-of-war Calliope, of which he was in
charge, out from Samoa in the teeth of a tornado which
drove several other vessels on to the reefs. Captain Kane
is medium height, with iron-grey beard and hair, promi-
nent eyebrows over grey- blue eyes. He had much that
was interesting to tell us about the sea, and this fact
about the Navy which impressed me : Government gets
practically no recruits for the Navy from the sea- border,
but from such inland provincial towns as Birmingham
or Manchester. The reason seems to be that men born
near the sea follow the ordinary sea callings of trading
and fishing. They have their homes ashore, marry and
settle down, and do not care to go right away for long
periods, as men in the Navy must.

" We are staying at Sheringham, and the other day we
witnessed from our window the most singular sight of a
waterspout. A very dark cloud hung over the sea ; and
at one end of the cloud there was an arm like an elephant's
trunk. This arm hung right down, and you could dis-
tinctly see the cloud of vapour beneath it as it poured
its deluge into the sea. The sea was tremendously
agitated beneath it, boiling up with great violence.
There was a number of ships in the direction of the water-
spout, but as far as we could see they avoided it. It
moved rapidly along before the wind, and finally dis-
appeared. Certainly it was an interesting and rather
awful sight."

" February 1, 1898. — This must be the mildest winter
within the memory of man. We had two or three days
of frost at Christmas, but no snow, and a January like
April. Snowdrops, crocuses, and even anemones are
out, and the early bushes are quite green. And, as
many mild seasons are, it is desperately unhealthy. I

164 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

have never known more illness. Mr. Walker is very ill ;
I fear dying. I cannot bear to think what a void in my
life his death will make. He has been a father indeed to
me ; and as long as there is hope I shall cling to it, that
he may be spared to us longer.

" One's children become the surest instruments for
measuring time by. We have only to consider how they
grow to realize the flight of the years. Dorothy is at
school, and quite grown-up at four and a quarter.
Oliver is talking impetuously, if still with the delightful
babyish mispronunciation. Bridget grows plump and
big "

" February 10, 1898.— This morning, at breakfast
time, I was summoned to go and see Mr. Walker, who was
reported to be sinking. He has been getting gradually
weaker of late, and has been confined to his bed for the
last ten days or so. I went at once, and found him much
changed, though I do not feel sure that he is quite so
near death as those in the house imagine. My interview
with him was most affecting. He clasped my hand and
said, in a very weak voice, ' This morning I signed my
will — and then I made a humble confession of faith-
then I asked Christ to receive my spirit — and then I
gave glory to God ! I said I was indeed thankful that
he found the Christian consolations so strong now. He
said, ' Oh, they are, they are ' very fervently. After
this he lay for some time very still, and I thought resting ;
so I did not say anything to him. By and bye, as I
saw he was fully awake, I suggested reading and prayer,
and he begged me to do so. I read him « For ever with
the Lord,' and at the end he said ' Amen.' Then we
prayed. He followed me with much emphasis : and at
the end said, ' Gracious Lord, hear and answer this
prayer, for Jesus Christ's sake.' I then spoke a word to
him about the solemn passage in Corinthians, of our
work being tried by fire, and what is of God enduring.
He held up his hands and said, ' Ah ! ' Then he said

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 165

a few words which I did not perfectly catch ; but among
them I heard him say, ' I am so thankful that Christ
calls us, and we have only to respond ; so the origin, as
well as the work, is His.' His niece, Mrs. S., and the
nurse now came in just as I was beginning to read another
hymn. He bade them sit down, and I read ' O Jesus,
King most wonderful ! ' As I began to read he put his
hands together reverently in the attitude of prayer.
When I came to the end, he said a few more words of
prayer, asking that the prayer of the hymn might be
granted—

' And when from hence I pass away,
To me Thy glory show.'

The rest was very wonderful. His face shone, and the
tears came into his eyes. He spread out his hands and
said, ' The Lord bless you all, the Lord bless you all '—
these words, or words very similar. Then he said to me,
' Give my love to the brethren, good-bye.' I bent down
and kissed him on the forehead. We were all in tears.
But when I left the house, despite the keenness of my
sorrow, I felt that I could sing in very joy of faith. It
was the death-bed of a saint."

" March 26, 1898. — It is worth recording that this has
been a most remarkable season. We had practically
no winter ; a day or two of frost about Christmas-time,
and nothing more. On Valentine's day I was calling
on D. at Swiss Cottage, and I passed a thorn almost
in full leaf ; yet yesterday, which was Lady Day, was
distinguished by snow and sleet and a bitter north-
easterly gale, which has raged with great fury for many
hours, and is still unabated."

" February 21. — I have had some misgivings latterly
whether my work here may not be over. There is no
outward reason for discouragement, but I am not sure
that by remaining I shall carry the congregation forward
to any point of greater spiritual prosperity. Have I
done all with them that I can ? It may be so. At

166 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

any rate I found myself not undisposed to turn an
attentive ear when informally sounded as to Queen
Street, Wolverhampton. Probably nothing will come
of it anyhow. If it should, it would be hard to go, but
perhaps hard also to stay. A minister wants to know
that there is such a general enthusiasm for the work of
the Church, and such real gain resulting from his ministry
that the congregation is advancing in the spiritual life.
Nothing is so difficult to ascertain as this, and one may
be misled by a few signs that do not mean much. But
I am not persuaded that we have the necessary spirit
among us, and hence this unsettled feeling for almost or
quite the first time in my ministry. K. has been much
impressed by a visit we have paid to Oxford. I went
in the capacity of college pastor to Mansfield, and cer-
tainly our intercourse with the men was most encour-
aging. Some of them, notably Gaunt, Lenwood, Carter,
Harrison, Rees, seem to me giants — men destined to
make a great mark in our Congregational history.
I shall follow their careers with intense interest and
high expectation.

" Lecturing at Brighton the other day, I spent some
time with R. J. Campbell. He has the ball at his feet
there. The whole place is moved ; and at the present
time he is preaching on Sunday evenings, after his regular
service, in the Empire Theatre. He is a fine-looking
fellow, with a mass of wavy grey hair, large sympathetic
eyes, and altogether decidedly handsome face. I gather
he is advanced in all his views, political, social, educa-
tional, and theological. He has become practically the
leader of the Liberal Party in Brighton."

" August 1, 1899. — Another year's work is practically
over, and I am thinking of my journey to America to
take part in the International Congregational Council
at Boston. Alfred Fordham is to go with me, and we
intend seeing something of Canada, and the western
American cities, before the Council begins. I have felt

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 167

a good deal encouraged here latterly. Congregations
have been large, additions to the Church numerous, and
the responses to an appeal we have issued for a Twentieth
Century Fund most splendid and inspiring. The whole
congregation, to a man and a woman, has entered into
the scheme with ardour and liberality, demonstrating
that the spirit of loyalty to our mission and principles
has never been stronger and truer. I have had some
further overtures from Queen Street, Wolverhampton,
but they have been indirect, and do not disturb me now.
My present duty is very clear before me, and I must not
allow myself to be diverted to the right hand or to the
left. I think I will record here that in the spring of the
year, to my intense surprise, I was elected with acclama-
tion to the Chair of the London Congregational Union.
Somewhat rashly, I fear, I intimated my acceptance, and
then my deacons remonstrated so strongly that I was
compelled to withdraw. Now Mr. Holborn wishes to
induce the deacons to rescind their resolution of opposi-
tion provided I return from America fit and well.
However, I don't think they will do this, and I am quite
resigned to accept the situation as it is. I have been
trying hard to write a twenty-minutes paper to read at
Boston on * The Young People and their Work.' Just
fancy having to treat such a subject in so short a
time!"

" January 1901. — The New Century has come, and
I am where I am, and likely to remain there. I have
declined the call to Edinburgh. The first thing really
to shake me was a visit from . . . He is a fine fellow,
very affectionate, and a great friend. He fairly broke
down and sobbed in my drawing-room. * I don't mind
telling you,' he said, ' that it is the greatest crash of my
life.' Then came the big deputation from my Church,
and pleaded for London, and for Kensington. It was
overwhelming ; and yet I stood out. As I now know,
the Deputation retired convinced that it was, as one

168 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

of them said, ' ten to one ' against them. My brother
ministers in the 'M.P.s'1 were divided in judgment.
They all thought there was peculiar suitability between
me and the Morningside opportunity. But they urged
me to stay in London. Finally I had a quiet day with
God and myself, and all the correspondence, and the
final fight was as to where I was most needed ; and the
decision was that it was where I am. . . . We are quite
clear now that we have been ' led.' The spirit of the
people here is all aggressive and progressive. May it
continue ! The letters I received were perfectly won-
derful. I read them with great tears coursing down my
cheeks, and choked over them as I have never done
over anything. My one thought and prayer now is
that God will provide some very good destiny for the
Church at Morningside, whose confidence and enthusiasm
have moved me beyond words."

" January 11. — I have just crawled out of bed after
three days of neuralgia. I wonder in what circle of the
Inferno the presiding Furies are allowed to use neu-
ralgia. Boiling mud seems to me to-day like a very
inferior hell. The power of so intangible a thing as a
breath of raw air to twist itself up in the roots of the
nerves and wrench at them until you shriek again is as
mysterious as most other things in life. God hangeth
life and death, pleasure and pain upon nothing.

" My friends are very kind, and I have felt healed by
their touches of sympathy. Other friends, too, help —
friends one has never seen. This afternoon came two
such out of the land of sweet sounds and dreams —
Coventry Patmore and Nathaniel Hawthorne. They are
good reading for the man who loves music. I cannot
say how great I feel Patmore' s Odes to be. Some of the
touches do indeed ' kiss the music from the chords of
life.' If there is any more beautiful description of love-

1 Name given to the society of younger ministers founded by
Home, Darlow, and others.

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 169

making than the lines in ' Amelia ' where she first kisses
her lover by the grave of the old love, I don't know
where it is to be found. And what delicate, mystic,
dreamy beauty in * Tired Memories ' ! But what a touch
is Hawthorne's ! That he makes the flesh creep, and
causes you to feel queer tremors and aching forebodings
is true. But I like the remorseless way in which he
shows how life in its most delicate and exquisite forms
crumbles under the rough grasp of materialism. He is
a great poet of the spirit and the moral emotions, if no
more. So I have touched the garment's hem of lesser
souls than the greatest this afternoon and have felt
' virtue ' go out of them.

" April 1. — This month has been a memorable one
to me on account of a visit to Italy. My good father-
in-law, who is always adding to our happiness, proposed
to take Katharine and myself with Hope1 to Rome and
Florence. My deacons consented, and this month we
have carried out the project. Katharine went on with
her father and sister to Paris on the Saturday, where
I joined them on the Monday evening, having travelled
with Mr. and Mrs. Winterbotham and Harry Spicer.
We got to Rome on the Wednesday before Easter Sunday
and stayed till the following Saturday week. We were
armed with an introduction from the Duke of Norfolk
to Monsignor Stanley, a brother of Lyulph Stanley ;
and also we had an introduction to Mr. Grizel, cousin
of Sir Morton Peto and chamberlain to the Pope. These
keys unlocked all doors. We succeeded in gaining
admittance to an audience of the Pope in the Sistine
Chapel ; and we were permitted to see through the
crypts of St. Peter's — where the tombs and sarcophagi
of so many of the Popes are. I am never likely to
forget the audience with Leo XIII. The Sistine Chapel
was, of course, crowded with people, gentlemen in even-
ing dress and ladies in black veils. The central aisle

1 Miss Hope Cozens-Hardy, now the Hon. Mrs. Pilkington.

170 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

was kept by the stalwart Swiss Guards in their bizarre
costume of lemon, black, and red, and with halberds in
their hands. The state, or church, officials moved here
and there ushering visitors into their places — men
clothed in black velvet doublet and hose with cloak
and ruff and sleeves edged with lace, and chains across
the breast, and so forth. One Spanish official was
extraordinarily handsome, with pointed black beard and
swarthy skin, looking as if he had stepped down out
of the canvas of Velasquez. We had to wait two hours,
but in the Sistine Chapel that is not irksome. The
time passed quickly ; and then at a given signal the
great doors opened, and through them you looked out
at the gaily frescoed hall beyond. There was the usual
murmur of excited expectation ; and then, borne aloft
on the shoulders of the guards, and on his chair of state
of crimson and gold, came Pope Leo XIII, dressed all in
white, the famous ring glittering on his finger. He
certainly looked very old, but not so frail as I expected.
The side face reminded me strongly of Newman's por-
traits, but the full face is of course notable for the
extraordinary mouth, the broadest I have ever seen.
He was flushed with excitement, and his lips moved con-
stantly as he turned from side to side, sitting forward
in his chair, and blessing the audience right and left.
His eyes are very animated ; and if his face is not
attractive, it is certainly a very striking one. Perhaps
it was the sense of his age — he is 92, I believe — which
made the whole scene a sort of dream, and left the
curious impression of unreality as of the baseless fabric
of a vision. He was borne to the far end of the Chapel,
where he dismounted right under Michael Angelo's awful
figure of the Christ at the Day of Judgment, and there
he knelt at the altar, and his figure framed itself into
the great canvas, and one was irresistibly reminded
that he, too, and the system he represents must be judged
where the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed. Then

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 171

he proceeded to read or chant certain sentences in a
singularly loud and nasal voice. The responses were
rendered by the choir in the gallery on our right. Then
when this was over, he pronounced the benediction, and
those knelt who could contrive to do so in the crowded
state of the chapel. He then held a reception, at which
certain people were personally presented. Then he sat
in his chair again, was hoisted up and carried out.
I should have said that both on his entrance and exit he
was greeted with ringing shouts of acclamation — ' Vive
le pape ; vive le pape re ! ' Women held out beads for
him to bless, and many young fellows became almost
hysterical and delirious with enthusiasm. One could
not but note that on his return he looked fatigued, and
his face was very grey; but he bore himself valiantly.
One wondered, too, whether he is still the victim of the
curious illusion that the temporal power can ever
return to him or his successors. It is generally believed
that he is quite fanatical on the point.

" It is impossible to describe in detail our busy, event-
ful days at Rome and Florence. At the former place
we stayed at the Hotel de Russie, where we were most
comfortable. We worked hard, devoting morning and
afternoon to sight-seeing, and we succeeded in compass-
ing most of the famous places and buildings. One was
hardly prepared for the strength of the impression that
pagan Rome is more interesting than Christian Rome,
except where you confront the memories of early Chris-
tianity, and where you come across the traces of Michael
Angelo and his great confraternity."

" July 20, 1901. — Yesterday I attended a cricket
match organized by Mr. Watt. It is an annual affair,
made special this year by the attendance of Dr. W. G.
Grace, who played for Mr. Watt's side. Grace was 53
the day previous, and so as cricketers go he deserves
his title ' the old man.' He is elephantine in build,
holds one shoulder higher than the other, and slouches

172 EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY

along like a great burly farmer on market day. There
is nothing in his appearance to suggest those extra-
ordinary powers of sight and quickness of motion which
we all associate with him. It was evident, however,
as we rode down in the same carriage, that he was devoted
to sport, and keenly interested in all outdoor life. He
recalled his runs with the harriers — and he can still run —
with which he hunts in the season two or three days in
the week. He had an eye for all the crops, and all the
processes of agriculture. On the field his extreme good-
nature was very obvious. He was the first and the
loudest in clapping every good stroke and fine piece of
fielding. He ingratiated himself specially with all the
youngsters by the warmth of his encouragement. We
got that rare thing, a speech, out of him at the luncheon.
Needless to say, it was short and hearty, and enthusias-
tically applauded. His own innings was not a great
one, but he made 57, and we were thankful to those
who missed him twice. Some of his strokes were as
masterly as ever."

" June 24, 1902. — A day of singular agitation. Yes-
terday the King arrived in London from Windsor for
his Coronation ceremonies and functions. To-day he
is lying at the gates of death, even while all the city is
gay with flags, and streamers and triumphal arches,
and thousands of troops assembled to march in pro-
cession are encamped in the public gardens and else-
where. The wildest rumours have been flying abroad.
This afternoon it was commonly believed that he was
dead. Mrs. H., I found, had just returned from
Holland Park Garden Party. She had seen the Princess
Beatrice leave hurriedly in floods of tears, had heard
the band stopped, and seen the party begin to break up
in confusion. An inspector of police had galloped up
saying that all was over. Later on these disquieting
reports gave way to somewhat better ones. The King
had had a serious operation, but was recovering fairly

EXTRACTS FROM KENSINGTON DIARY 173

well. The Coronation, however, is indefinitely post-
poned, and all is perplexity. The next twenty-four
hours will doubtless indicate the issue for life or death.
Meanwhile we can but possess our souls in patience, and
wait and pray."

CHAPTER VI

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

IN June 1903 Home bade farewell to Kensington. A
great meeting was held in the Town Hall to bid him
God-speed. His people took leave of him with sore
hearts, but they felt that they were giving him to a
larger work, and they did it under a real sense of duty.
Not a few of them enrolled themselves among his
earliest fellow-workers in the new sphere. Before
settling down again he took a long holiday, first on a
bicycling tour with his wife in Cornwall, and afterwards
at Sheringham. Meanwhile work was begun at White-
fields with certain necessary structural alterations, under
the supervision of the Rev. James Holmes, who had been
appointed assistant superintendent of the mission, and
who proved a most able and devoted helper. Home
said of him that " his gift of organization almost
amounted to genius." The cost of the alteration and
additions to the building was not less than thirty
thousand pounds, and thanks to the splendid generosity
of Mr. W. H. Brown, the treasurer, Mrs. Ry lands, and
many other friends, the whole of this great sum was
raised within a few months.

The mission was opened, and the work inaugurated at
a great public meeting in September 1903. A sermon
was preached by Dr. Jowett, and he, along with Earl
Carrington, Mr. Campbell, and many London ministers,
supported Home on the platform. Home had preached
on the previous Sunday, and the note of his sermons
and of the whole opening services was the redemption

174

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 175

of men and women — a gospel wide enough and powerful
enough to meet every human need. From the first
the work at Whitefields was an unqualified success.
All sorts and conditions of folk flocked to it in embarras-
sing numbers, and most of them found something to
help them in their need. Home and his fellow- workers
laid themselves out to meet the conditions in which they
found themselves with a broad and elastic policy.
They aimed at an institutional church, but had no
intention of sacrificing the church to the institutions
which centred round it. The church remained a reality,
and the Sunday worship gave the inspiration to all the
work of the week. On Sunday morning Home con-
ducted a service very much on the lines he was accus-
tomed to at Kensington, and it was well attended and
widely useful. In the afternoon the great building was
filled with men, and the Whitefields Brotherhood became
a power for good in the neighbourhood and a model
for all other meetings of the kind. Home was often
criticized for the political complexion which at times
characterized these gatherings. But he was quite un-
repentant, and vigorously defended his conviction that
it was necessary to bring religion into politics and
reconstruct both municipal and national affairs on a
Christian basis. Some ten years later he wrote an
apologia for his policy in this regard in a volume entitled
Pulpit, Platform, and Parliament which is unanswerable.
In the evening the church was again filled with a crowd
largely composed of young men and women for a service
of a more evangelistic kind, with plenty of good music.
At this service Home gave of his best, and untold good
was accomplished by it. The Sunday services set the
tone for the whole work of the mission during the week.
The various clubs and societies catered for the bodily,
mental, and spiritual needs of the varied classes who made
Whitefields their home from home. Mrs. Home took
the lead in the work among women, girls, and children,

176 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

and she and her fine band of fellow- workers, some of
whom were definitely set apart as " sisters of the people,"
accomplished great things.

Of the beginnings at Whitefields Home wrote in his
diary : —

" I left Kensington at the end of June after a very
interesting and cordial farewell meeting in the Town Hall,
and Katharine and I had a cycling honeymoon in
Cornwall, visiting the Land's End and most of the well-
known places round the coast. Then we returned to
town for Hope's wedding, and spent the remainder of our
holiday at Sheringham. Meanwhile Mr. Holmes, whom
I had chosen as a colleague for Whitefields, had been
pushing the workpeople along and got the building ready
for reopening. The commencement was most aus-
picious. The crowds were prodigious. My friends all
stood round me. Jowett and Campbell and Clifford
and Lord Carrington came along to speed the launch.
I appealed for volunteers for an orchestra, and got them.
Harry Spicer and Robert Wallace became my treasurers,
to my immense satisfaction. . . . From the beginning we
were crowded out at the evening services. The morning
services grew in most encouraging fashion. The men's
meeting in the afternoon proved a most solid and
satisfactory institution. The At Homes before and after
the evening service for the young people in the business
houses taxed our accommodation to the utmost.
Everything we touched was a success ; but I think we
ought to claim that we put all our brains into the
business and an immense capital of energy. Heavens,
how we worked ! Mr. and Mrs. Holmes lived in the
Toplady Hall, sleeping in a room partitioned out of the
Hall. Their devotion and self-denial were endless.
Katharine and I, with the five bairns, removed from
Kensington to 20 Ampthill Square, where we found
a very pleasant house and garden within ten minutes'

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 177

walk of Whitefields. There our sixth baby was born
—the brightest and best of wee mortals. We christened
her Ruth Audrey — the ' Whitefields Baby ' everybody
called her, and a better symbol of the new order of
things at Whitefields could not be. As we drew near to
Christmas a new interest arose. There was a vacancy
in the parliamentary representation of the Ludlow
Division in Shropshire, and Fred was asked to stand,
and consented. Of course I took the field with him ;
and we careered in a motor-car in the depths of an
exceptionally moist winter ' o'er moor and fen.' He
did not win, but he fought as fair and fine a fight as
man ever fought on English soil, and laid the foundation
of a victory in the future.

" All through winter and spring the work went on with
unabated ardour and success. In May we laid the foun-
dation-stone of the Institute which Mr. W. H. Brown
is erecting for us. Mr. Asquith came at the last moment
to take the place of Lord Rosebery, who disappointed us.
Mr. Asquith said many very kind things about me and
my work. But indeed, when I recall all the generous
tributes paid to me I am humbled to the dust. It has
been a wonderful year, the Hand of God being so manifest
that one could almost claim to have seen it visibly
influencing one's life.

" Of the formal opening of our Whitefields Institute
much might be written. The proceedings were memor-
able. Mr. Carruthers Gould made an excellent speech
at the luncheon, and Mr. BirrelPs address at night was
as fine as anything I ever heard of its kind. Perhaps
the most startling feature of the day was a cheque sent
by Mrs. Rylands for £4,000 to clear off all our indebted-
ness. I was at first uncertain whether even with this
cheque in hand I should get the full £6,000 required.
But at the luncheon Mr. John Carter promised £1,000
if the whole sum were raised that day. It seemed to
most people so improbable that many said or thought
12

178 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

Mr. Carter did not intend to give the £1,000, but only
to offer it. When I announced the £4,000 gift Mr.
Connell leaned across in his excitement and said to
Birrell, ' Then it's done.' ' Yes,' replied Birrell, ' and
Carter's done.' But I am certain Mr. Carter was as
happy to give the money as to promise it."

The following account of the life at Whitefields has
been contributed by the Rev. James Holmes :—

" In the change of sphere from Allen Street to
Whitefields Mr. Home thoroughly realized the enormous
difference. He was leaving a well-organized church
with great traditions behind him, and setting his face
towards a church with practically only its traditions left
to boast of, but with ' Ichabod ' across its portals.
The chief advantage to him was that the site was in a
great thoroughfare along which thousands of men and
women passed day and night, Sunday and weekdays,
and around it were huge places of business, numerous
flats, and every nationality under the sun. The position
was unique, and the opportunities offered laid hold of his
wonderful imagination, and he saw in it a sphere of
service which drew him like a magnet. When it was
first suggested to him by, I believe, the Rev. George A.
Suttle, he recognized that it was probably the leading of
God to a service far wider than anyone dreamed of. He
had long craved for a centre where he could be absolutely
unfettered and where ' all sorts and conditions of men '
could come rightfully and naturally to his ministry.
In the Tottenham Court Road he saw his chance, and
leaped to it, thinking only of the opportunity and of
nothing else. He could make a big business house of it
for Jesus Christ, where all could come ' without money
and without price.' The low state in numbers and
influence to which the church had sunk, and its generous
willingness to consent to his conditions, left him exactly
with the free hand he desired for his plans. The

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 179

experiment was daring so far as Congregationalism is
concerned, and made him, as a democrat of democrats,
a sort of autocrat with a small bureaucracy of governors ;
but those who lived closest to him and understood the
workings of his mind, and the dreams he dreamed, and
the visions he saw, followed him all the way with unim-
paired confidence.

" No man, perhaps, ever came into such close touch
with him as I did, or saw him so intimately on every
side of his life, and no man ever loved him more — and
still loves him. He became my David, and I know
I was his Jonathan. He had a gift for winning men
to service such as I had not seen before nor since,
hence difficulties and opposition went down before him,
and the way was smoothed for his great experiment.
Before he left Kensington he was up to the eyes in
Charles Booth's Life and Labour of London, and he was
studying the sociological maps the book contained
until he had gripped the position. His mind worked
rapidly, and he had a curious instinct, which I have
never quite seen in any other man, for putting his finger
unerringly on the weakness or strength of a position and
knowing how to handle it. Any meeting was quite
safe in his hands as chairman, although he had a way
of playing fast and loose with programmes. It never
mattered to him what you had arranged, he would
carry it through in his own delightful and successful
fashion. Many a time worried officials and organizers
hurried to me and said, ' That is not according to pro-
gramme,' and I had to assure them that if they would
only wait they would be the first to congratulate them-
selves on the success of the affair, whatever it was.
I never once saw him make a mistake. No one could
catch the trick — it was a gift of God.

" To one thing he made up his mind : he was not going
to have a cheap and nasty mission building. He was
going to proclaim a great Christ and a great Gospel,

180 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

and he would have a place and machinery worthy of
the object ; hence he knew what to preserve and what
to scrap and what to enlarge. A church of limited
days and service was no good to him. It must be
a church he could use every day if he wanted, and
he would build an institute to serve humanity twenty-
four hours. He would meet every business house in
Tottenham Court Road on its own level, and beat them
at the game — and he did it. He knew his own mind
as to what he wanted in the matter of alterations, and
made the best of the church and Toplady Hall ; but his
great scheme was the institute which was to take the
place of the dilapidated building at the back. To carry
out the scheme necessitated the reverent removal of
parts of the old graveyard, all of which was done ; and
then came into being a fine, replete set of buildings
ready for all who needed and desired them. In them
all he dreamed of came to pass, and during his ministry
night after night and seven days a week the place was
like a hive of bees. There was nothing about any part
of them that savoured of the average mission-hall.
Everything was of the best, tastefully furnished, and
home-like to a degree. There was no side of it that we
ever had to apologize for or feel ashamed of. It was a
great workshop for Jesus Christ, and achieved its object.
" Full use of all the old church's possibilities was made
from the start, in September, and in three weeks he had
got his men's meeting going. The first Sunday of this
famous meeting saw the body of the church nearly full,
and from then onward it grew rapidly till the great
church was crowded Sunday after Sunday to its utmost.
The tea hour at the close kept men, and naturally
the evening service claimed them, the result being a
balancing of sexes seen in few of the churches. His morn-
ing services were always splendidly attended, and were
dignified, quiet, and helpful beyond measure. In them
was found strength, comfort, and guidance, and they

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 181

drew men and women of every type and class. There
was a rare fragrance in them, a fragrance which lasts
till now. He gave to them the greatest of preparation
and thought, both in sermon and prayer. There was
never a part of them that was permitted to fall from the
high standard of what a service should be. The simple
Communion Service was a joy from beginning to end.
To me in that he was always at his finest. From then on
for the rest of the day he was absolutely a free-lance.
The level in the afternoon and evening was always high,
but free, with the freedom he loved so passionately.
He never descended in anything ; that was impossible ;
it was simply a change of movement, the bringing into
free play of all his great gifts ; but all the time he was
conscious of the presence of the great Master he served
and the kind of service required of him. He had a way,
too, of compelling all his speakers and workers to be
at their best ; you simply could not say or do stupid
things before him.

" He began a midday service at once on Wednesdays,
and drew an extremely good audience, and for them
he prepared and delivered his series of addresses
contained in The Model Citizen. He put an amazing
lot of thought and care into them, and those who
heard them were impressed and influenced. It was
a congregation of all sorts, with a fair sprinkling of men
who came in from the large workshops and factories
round. In addition to these there gathered, however, a
fair number of cranks and men who had axes to grind,
and these became the fly in the ointment. It had
become Mr. Home's practice to see all and sundry after
his various services, and these visitors grew in numbers.
He received them all in his kindly, gracious way. The
door of his heart always stood open, and anyone entered,
only some stayed too long. There were Wednesdays
when it took over an hour to pass them all through, and
although I tried hard to shoulder some of them off, many

182 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

got past me. This interviewing business began to tell
upon his nervous and physical strength, and when the
last man had gone I would find him completely exhausted.
In the end, and after much discussion, we reluctantly
dropped it. With the growing and incessant demands on
him, and all that had to be accomplished, he could not
afford to waste himself in that way. It was replaced
with an evening service, which also drew a fair audience ;
but we got rid of the cranks, and he benefited.

" By now the success of the work was assured, and his
hands were full. Invitations from elsewhere to take
services and lecture and deliver addresses came in shoals.
He was absolutely hopeless as a correspondent, and had
an ipse dixit that if you left letters long enough they
answered themselves. He finally handed over his diary
and correspondence to me, and this saved him a good
deal. He was interviewed wherever he went, and
promises were solicited for engagements ; but in his
ingenuous, delightful way, he had but one answer, and
was saved a lot : ' Write Mr. Holmes, and ask him ;
if he says I can come, I can ; if he says I cannot, then
I cannot ; I don't know anything about myself, he
knows everything.' At one time he was booked three
years ahead. There were times when his engagements
were appalling, and I have known him speak and
preach and lecture every day for a fortnight, leaving
King's Cross on a Sunday at 9 p.m., and arrive back
on Saturday morning at 7.30, and then take a big
day on Sunday. Every smallest detail was worked
out for him on these occasions ; but there was a limit
to his energy and strength. He paid a big price for all
this, and the churches exacted it.

" Whitefields was a two-man job, and when he was not
there — well, it was just not Whitefields. In addition to
all this, there came increasing demands for articles for
magazines and newspapers. Again he responded, and
by this time his favourite game of golf had had to go by

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 183

the board, except on holidays at Sheringham or Church
Stretton. I pleaded with him to take Monday, but
the incessant demands prevented it. He contested the
L.C.C. South St. Pancras seat against the late Sir George
Alexander, but was providentially beaten. It was a fine
contest between two men remarkably alike in many ways,
and was a model of courtesy and good feeling. The famous
parliamentary election of 1906, when the Liberal Party,
under the leadership of the late Sir Henry Campbell-
Bannerman, was returned by such a large majority, made
enormous demands upon Mr. Home's time and effort,
and he responded to every possible call. It was seriously
proposed to him by the leaders of the party that he
should contest one of the divisions of Birmingham
against the late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain. He refused,
however, to give an answer without discussing it with me,
and I vigorously and hotly opposed the step for the
sake of the work at Whitefields and his own sake. He
knew he could not win against such an opponent, and
he saw that it might cost him a breakdown, and that
would be disastrous to the welfare of his work. He
refused the request.

" By this time he had begun to get an amazing grip
of the life around him in St. Pancras. He used to prowl
round back streets and byways finding out things. He
became a familiar figure, and talked to queer folk, and
they gradually came to hear him at nights when all
seats were free. Men who had never been to church
for years became regular attenders and changed men.
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German, from that
strange medley of aliens living near by, were influenced
by his personality and power of human touch. One
Sunday, after his morning service, he went off to St.
Pancras Arches to address ian audience of working men,
and when he got there he found his platform, a sooty
coal wagon, had been covered with old newspapers
for fear he shouldjriack himself. That fine thoughtful-

184 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

ness touched him, and he cherished the incident always.
It was not a long stride for his hearers from those Arches
to his men's meeting, and the further step of the Sunday
evening service and life on higher levels. He was never
a cleric in anything to them. In dress, in manner, in
approach of speech he was a simple Christian gentleman,
unconventional to a degree, and when he spoke he
played on them like a master on a violin. If he had
asked for cheers for Jesus Christ he could have got them.

" I never knew a service when at its close some sorrow-
ful tale had not to be poured into his ears, and then he
seemed to have a touch of motherhood. Men and women
alike told him everything ; he had a way of looking at
them and letting them talk, and when they left him
they were conscious that a healing touch had been laid
upon them. I know this, because I saw it, and was the
only one who did see it. Of course, there were folk to be
interviewed who were pure professionals at the game, but
experience soon taught him how to sort them out, and
he made no compromises with that type. He rarely
finished his work before 9.30 p.m. on a Sunday night.

" Whitefields was visited by many from across the
sea, both colonials and Americans, and all were impressed
by it. It was unique. It was a great home church, and
every part of its work savoured of that spirit — even the
kitchens where all meals were prepared. The Americans
admitted they had nothing quite like it. The person-
ality of the man was just everywhere, and that was nine-
tenths of the secret. The mere expenditure of money
did not make it ; it helped ; but the keystone of the arch
was just him.

" Looking back upon it all after some years away from
it, I am sure it was a success. It was a church where the
machinery was not heard. Freedom from hard-and-fast
lines made it easy for men and women of every class to
come and go. No one felt strange or out of place, and
voices that had been silent for years found themselves

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 185

swept off their feet and singing heartily the great hymns
he sometimes wrote, and to tunes he was a genius
at selecting. Folk who for years had kept outside of
churches became regular attenders, and he won them, as
he always did, to the feet of the Christ he loved so well.

" I regretted his decision to enter Parliament. It was
bad enough to become Chairman of the Congregational
Union, with its many calls, but to add Parliament seemed
like signing his death warrant, and I was prepared for
his breakdown. I never knew the love I bore him till
I read of his death in the newspaper, and then for a
moment it seemed as if I literally turned to stone. He
had simply worked himself to death."

With his settlement at Whitefields began the most
fruitful and strenuous period of Home's ministry. He
greatly welcomed the opportunity which the new
mission gave him of shaping the work after his own mind
and in entire freedom from ordinary church conventions.
He had no patience with the " little garden walled
around " conception of the church, and from the first
he sought to make Whitefields a centre of applied
Christianity. The neighbourhood round Tottenham
Court Road gave him every opportunity, and he soon
found himself in bitter conflict with the vested interests
that thrived on the degradation of the people. He was
not content merely to do relief work and pick up the
wounded from the road-side, but determined to attack
those who were responsible for the mischief. Under his
keen and practical leadership Whitefields steadily
became a terror to evildoers, and a sanctuary of refuge
for the tempted and oppressed.

Meanwhile, outside engagements and interests multi-
plied. In December 1903 Home went down into
Shropshire in order to help his brother Fred, who was
standing as Liberal candidate at a by-election in the
Ludlow Division. Fred Home had been moved to offer

186 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

himself for Parliament largely by his opposition to the
Education Act, and it was one of the dominant issues in
the election. His brother threw himself into the fray
with immense zest, and though the Liberals were beaten,
he helped them to give a good account of themselves.
He wrote of the campaign to his wife : —

" December 11, 1903.

"... We are in the Liberal part of the constituency
here, and we had literally a triumphal progress last night
through the Clun district. The lanes rang all the way
with cheers ; and despite the awful weather, there was a
wonderful meeting and not a dissentient hand. Late
at night the men were still cheering ; and at no election
have I ever seen quite such enthusiasm.

" The night before we were at Bridgnorth — the Tory
stronghold, and we had a noisy and lively time, but a
good vote. I was determined to talk Temperance to
them, though a small mob were half seas over. Con-
sequently I had the most tremendous fight to be heard
at all. . . . We speak at Bishop's Castle at midday
and at Stretton to-night. ..."

" December 14, 1903.

"... I have just got back from Birmingham, where,
despite the weather, I had fine congregations and a good
time. Down here we have had very extraordinary
times. The meeting at Stretton — said to be a Tory
stronghold — was the most amazing success, and the
reports everywhere are of the rising hopes of the Liberals.
Still I am quite prepared to hear that the Tories will
rally this week, and we have a hard campaign in front
of us. We are all very fit and full of fight. Chamber-
lain is being fairly met and beaten in argument ; and
they will take as much Education speech down here as
you can give them. Hutton comes down to-morrow,
and he and I speak at Bishop's Castle. To-night the

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 187

great thing is the meeting for the railway-men at
Craven Arms. I have no doubt it will be a tremendous
success. You can easily understand how men of fixed
incomes view a general rise in prices. It would mean
hard times for them, for the Companies are not in the
least degree likely to raise their wages."

" December 14, 1903.

"... We had a very big meeting at Craven Arms
last night. There was some disturbance at first, and the
police turned two or three drunken men out. After
that it was absolutely unanimous and most enthusiastic.
To-day is nomination day, after which we are off
to Lydbury North and Bishop's Castle for two
meetings. ..."

" December 14, 1903.

"... We had a spirited and interesting day yester-
day. At a little village called Lydbury North we had
a big crowd, including the parson, and there was not a
hand against the vote of confidence. Then we motored
on to Bishop's Castle and found Hutton in possession
of a huge meeting. The enthusiasm was extraordinary.
Jesse Collings had been speaking there an hour or two
before, and had devoted most of his speech to me. I wish
I had heard him. But I will get even with him yet ! We
motored back here at night. I am now off to Bridg-
north in order to go out from there to a small town called
Ditton Priors. . . ."

Part of the year 1904 was spent in building up
the work at Whitefields and in many flying visits to
different parts of the country, chiefly in the interests
of the mission, explaining its programme and appealing
for funds. The financial problem was still a serious one,
and Home had to depend largely on his own efforts to
secure the necessary support. It was work which he
disliked ; but he had a good cause, and he threw himself

188 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

into it with all possible ardour. Other interests, too,
claimed him. In April we find him in South Wales
speaking on the liquor question. " There was a tre-
mendous crowd, and nothing was more applauded than
when I said the churches ought to counteract the influence
of the public-houses and not bring railing accusations
against those who do try. As soon as they saw the drift
of my sentence they cheered, and shouted for minutes."
In May he was in Scotland taking part in " the greatest
demonstration anyone can remember under the auspices
of the Scottish Congregational Union. They were over-
powering in their enthusiasm, and I made a good fighting
speech, which fetched them tremendously." In the
summer Mr. W. W. Pilkington took him for a cruise on
the south coast in his yacht the Asterope, which greatly
set him up. In the course of it he visited his brother
Fred, who was lying seriously ill at Torquay. He was
attended by Dr. Huxley, who turned out to be a distant
connection of the family. Home wrote to his wife : —

"... The lark about the doctor is that he is Mother's
second cousin. I knew there were Huxley s in the family,
but never suspected this man to be one of them. He was
a Silvester by his mother. He said to Fred, ' Let me see ;
have you not a brother who is a Radical preacher ?
an awful Radical, isn't he ? ' Fred admitted the soft
impeachment, whereupon the doctor said he should like
to meet me. When told that he had met me his astonish-
ment was boundless. Such a mild-mannered person to
be a Radical preacher ! However, he has invited me to
dinner to-morrow, and I am going. He married a titled
lady. . . ."

The autumn of this year found Home again in Scotland,
engaged in a rapid campaign of preaching and speaking,
and incidentally obtaining help for Whitefields. When
it is remembered that all this was in addition to his

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 189

regular work of preaching at the mission on Sundays
and running its organizations during the week, it will
be realized what a heavy strain he was putting on him-
self. He took it all very lightly, but his letters contain
frequent references to his feeling the burden both of
years and cares. They are mostly jocular in form, but
they tell a tale nevertheless. The following extracts
from letters to his wife give some hints as to his outside
activities at this period : —

" January 5, 1905.

" I am just off to Glasgow. Imagine poor me being
whirled through the snow from point to point of this
inhospitable and savage land ! But the people are
wonderfully appreciative ; and Whitefields is in every-
body's mouth. With any luck in the weather we ought
to have a big time at Glasgow. ..."

" January 7, 1905.

"... I reckon that on my last statement another
£5,000 will clear us absolutely. There is no doubt that
we have raised all the money for the old debt, and now
are going for our new expenditure. The amount we
have raised in eighteen months is really remarkable, as
I am sure the statement at the opening will show. ..."

" January 14, 1905.

"... We are up to our necks in work. On the
Thursday after the opening you and I are to receive
the young people. We hope to have 1,000 present.
Then on Saturday comes the Men's Club opening. So
we are in for a week of it with a vengeance. All is
going well except the electric lighting. That is dis-
gracefully behind, and it will be a fight to get it finished
in time. We had a row royal with them yesterday
about it.

190 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

" LANCASHIRE COLLEGE, MANCHESTER,

" February 16, 1905.

"It is lovely weather here, and I had excellent golf
yesterday at the mouth of the Mersey, and feel quite set
up. Adeney is a delightful host, as you may suppose.
Yesterday we went to the Central Mission at Salford —
I think almost the most desolate, dark, heart-breaking
neighbourhood I ever saw. There was a great crowd, and
the Mission is undoubtedly doing well ; but they sadly
need better premises."

" PAISLEY,

" February 20, 1905.

"It is very cold, and snowstorms are constant — my
usual luck in Scotland apparently. The Coatses are
most kind. I had a crowded church this morning, and
am promised an even more tremendous throng to-night.
I do not think I am very disappointed about Birming-
ham.1 Doubtless it is all right. It has always been my
good fortune to have doors slammed in my face if I was
not intended to go in. It saves a lot of worry and
anxiety. I long to be back. You must not think I am
content away from home. My heart tugs away at me
all the time. There are no bairns like my bairns, and no
wife like my wife. . . ."

" March 13, 1905.

" I left early this morning for Ashford, Middlesex,
where we had a splendid day's golf with the pressmen.
We were fairly annihilated, but the two compensations
were the exquisite weather and the fact that I beat the
Captain of the team— Carr of the Daily Mail, a man with
a three handicap. I got home soon after five, and had
tea with the children, and then played bricks till they had
to go to bed. ... As I was coming home on Sunday

1 This refers to a proposal that he should contest a division of
Birmingham against Mr. Chamberlain. He was disappointed that
it came to nothing.

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 191

night two young fellows came up and spoke to me.
They were very nice chaps ; and one of them said he
was sure there was no theatre in London where people
would crowd in and stand for two hours on end as they
do at Whitefields at night. They were both very keen
on enlarging the place. Another young fellow stopped
to speak to me, and declared that from week-end to week-
end he lived on Whitefields. We had a wonderful time
on Sunday, and such a lot of people stayed to talk to
me. . . ."

" April 15, 1905.

"... It is a perfect spring day, very bright and warm.
... I do not feel so very old this morning. . . . When
we look at the bairns, and when I hear and read their
old-fashioned ideas and phrases, I feel one ought to be
old. Last night I was quite sentimental, and for me
devotional. I sat and meditated on my past, and wrote
in my diary, and repented me of my sins and made vows
to be a more useful person in the future. Time is the
subtle thief of youth, and more than half a lifetime has
fled, so I must not postpone matters.

" I went to the House of Commons yesterday and
successfully raided some members for my men's meeting.
John Burns became quite chummy, seizing me by the
arm and calling me ' Silvester ' ! He was in great form,
hitting out at Keir Hardie and all who try to sour the
workmen, and adjuring me to be ' sunny.' I don't
know that I fail in that particular. However, we will
try and keep the clouds off our day . . . and live in
the light. ..."

" April 18, 1905.

" I am in the train on my way back from Kidder-
minster. I have had a very good time. The congrega-
tions at Manchester were, so they said, record ones ; and
considering I am now over forty, I preached fairly well.

192 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

On Monday I went over Collyer's Labour Homes, and
then went on to Kidderminster, a very tedious journey.
We had a large and enthusiastic meeting, to which I
spoke for about an hour and a quarter."

" April 19, 1905.

"... We had a magnificent social gathering of the
Men's Meeting last night. The Hall was thronged, and
the proceedings were most animated and successful.
It was reported that the average attendance is now 700
and the actual membership 400. Everything prospers
in connection with the meeting. . . ."

" April 22, 1906.

"... I have been tremendously busy of late ! Busy,
that is, in absurd ways. On Thursday I went back to
Enfield with Campbell and cheered him up. I really
think it did him good. I rode in his motor, and peram-
bulated his estate and devoured his own home-made
Devonshire cream ! He seemed quite touched by my
going out to see him. Poor boy ! He has a lonely time
of it, and with his somewhat morbid conscience and
habit of introspection I am really sorry for him. Then
yesterday the service ! The place was very nearly full
—about 1,000 people I should say, and a collection of
nearly £9. ..."

" May 6, 1905.

"... Last night I went with ... to see Bernard
Shaw's play John Bull's Other Island. I have no adjec-
tive to do it justice. It is not only astonishingly brilliant
and witty, but it seems to me profoundly suggestive.
There is, of course, an undercurrent of irony all through.
The shallow Liberal candidate is immense : the Irish
life in all its attractiveness and inconsequence is incom-
parable. I should greatly like you to see it, and I should
like your Father to see it. . . ."

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 198

" May 17, 1905.

"... I was at the Metropolitan Tabernacle last night
and had quite an enthusiastic time with the Primitive
Methodists, whom I always like. They are a genial,
generous folk, and their fire is consuming."

" July 29, 1905.

"... A curious thing happened to-day. . . . came
round here in great distress to say that . . . had been
taken into a nursing home to be operated on for cancer,
and begged I would go and see him. Of course I went,
and it was one of the most affecting interviews I ever
had. He clung to me and begged me to pray for him.
He said that for twenty- five years he had never been in
a church, but he had always believed that Christianity
was true. And he said it was just meeting me at golf
which made him register a mental note that if ever he
were in need he would send for me. ' There's no pro-
fessionalism about you,' he said. I felt so glad he wanted
me to come ; but it was a very harrowing time. ..."

" September 18, 1905.

"... Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have gone, and I am alone
with, oh, such piles of work. We had a tremendous day
yesterday ! The morning service was crowded. At the
afternoon meeting there were over 1,000 men ; and at
night the place was densely thronged at half-past six.
The men's welcome took my breath away. They all
sprang to their feet and cheered for minutes 1 Evidently
everything is going ahead this winter. The adult school
was in great form, and has added to its numbers con-
siderably. There are many things awaiting you and
your decision."

In the autumn of 1905 Home published, through the
Free Church Council, a pamphlet on Nonconformity in
the Nineteenth Century. It was a really brilliant summary
13

194 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

of the concluding stages in the great struggle for
religious freedom, and an enthusiastic, though not over-
drawn, appreciation of the part played by the Free
Churches in the religious, social, educational, and political
movements of the Victorian era. It is still well worth
reading. At the same time he began to contribute a
weekly article on public questions to the Examiner, and
continued it for some time. He had a free hand, and
wrote strongly and vividly on current topics, mainly
ecclesiastical and political. It was journalism of the
best kind. Nothing has been said hitherto of the part
Home took in founding and promoting this newspaper,
which for about ten years was the organ of the Congre-
gational churches. He did a great deal, along with the
Rev. Hardy Harwood, to find money for the enterprise,
was a most useful member of the board of directors,
and a regular contributor to its pages. It was thankless
work, and he often lamented the lack of support given
to the paper ; but his splendid denominational loyalty
kept him at it. O si sic omnes !

In the early weeks of 1906 a General Election took
place, which resulted in the overthrow of the Con-
servative Government and the triumphant return of the
Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. The
chief issues in the contest were Free Trade, education,
licensing, and Mr. Balfour's policy in South Africa.
Home threw himself into the fray with immense ardour,
and rejoiced exceedingly over the result. He was in
great demand as a speaker, not only in and around
London, but much further afield. He wrote of one of
his motor tours in the Examiner : —

" Mr. J. D. Jones and I had probably the toughest
tour of all from the party standpoint, for our route lay
through the Midlands. We shall not easily forget our
first meeting at Aylesbury, where the Town Hall was at
the mercy of a small but intoxicated mob of hooligans.

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 195

Not a word could be spoken. The hall was crowded
with a splendid assemblage of Liberals, but no order
could be maintained, and we had to execute a strategic
retreat to the Congregational Chapel, where an enthusi-
astic meeting was held and the rights of free speech
vindicated. Evidently the opponents of Mr. Silas Hock-
ing are frightened, as well they may be, for he has fought
magnificently against the Rothschild ascendancy. At
Stony Stratford and Wolverton, on the following day,
very different scenes awaited us. In the latter town we
must have addressed two or three thousands of railway-
men, and a most responsive audience it was. We
travelled on to the Birmingham area, and spoke at night
against Mr. Austen Chamberlain at Sparkhill. The
meeting was large, orderly, and enthusiastic. The
next day found us in Shropshire, flying from village to
village in the Clun district, and addressing crowded
meetings everywhere. On Saturday I had to bear the
burden alone, which was, perhaps, the reason why I got
into a ditch, and had to be dragged out by a Liberal
horse. However, all's well that ends well, and I was
amply repaid by great meetings for any wear and tear
in the good cause."

Of the election campaign and its results Home wrote
to his wife in the highest spirits : —

" January 10, 1906.

"... The meeting at South Birmingham was quite
the liveliest one I have addressed so far at this election.
I had a very good hearing, but had to speak for forty-
five minutes amid a very diverting series of interpolations,
which added greatly to the zest of the proceedings.
They are making big fights in Birmingham against
tremendous odds. Every hoarding is captured by the
Tariff Reformers. The Liberal meetings are ignored by
the Press. Not a word can be heard from our side except
at meetings. It is the last desperate fight for a rotten

196 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

cause, for which all freedom has had to be suppressed.
But even so our workers are marvellously encouraged,
and canvassing returns are said to be excellent.

" Do you see that Balfour's election is on Saturday ?
If he goes out, as I hear is very probable, and if Winston
Churchill wins, as is almost certain, it will mean blue
ruin for Toryism everywhere. . . ."

" January 12, 1906.

"... We are certainly not dying of dullness. The
fun is fast and furious. ... I spoke for the Labour
candidate at Gravesend yesterday at 1 o'clock. Then
at night I spoke with G. W. E. Russell at the Drill Hall,
Hampstead, a densely packed meeting and most en-
thusiastic. Then I got back to South St. Pancras,
where we had a perfectly glorious meeting. Certainly
we are going very strong, and have a wonderful
canvass. . . ."

" January 14, 1906.

" It is a thousand pities that you have missed in your
rural seclusion the sensation of a century. To the end
of one's life I can never forget Saturday night, and I
would have given all my banker's balance to have had
you at my side. We began at Whitefields at 8.30, the
place being densely crowded. At 10 o'clock the editor
of the Daily Chronicle was on his feet, when we heard a
roar in the street, and up came a man with a tape.
Churchill in ! Then followed the various Manchester
divisions one after the other. Any attempt to continue
our meeting properly was ridiculous. Bradford came
next — the same story. Still we waited for the big
Manchester verdict. Then at last there was a sound
of the multitude outside as the screen told the fatal
news, and in ran W. to us, breathless and almost
hysterical. The whole meeting was on its feet. Every-
body forgot everything. ' Balfour's out,' they yelled,

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 197

Connell was trying to speak, and bellowing at the top of
his voice, ' Two thousand majority ! ' I was standing on
a chair waving my handkerchief, and it is a literal fact
that until we were physically exhausted there was no
cessation. In came the telegrams. Everywhere the
Tories swept out of existence. London was the cul-
mination. By this time we were like a rag that has
been through the mangle. Thousands were frantic in
the Tottenham Court Road. The wild hurrahs of the
multitude were incessant. Wallace's triumph at Perth
stirred up the enthusiasm afresh. Then York, Ply-
mouth, Morpeth, and the rest. Holmes turned us
out at last ; but nobody will ever forget it. It was
one of the greatest nights in England's political
history.

" To-morrow — London ; and I think we shall sweep
the Metropolis now. ..."

" January 16, 1906.

"... I am still alive, and my throat is a little better,
notwithstanding last night in the market-place. It
was a huge meeting, and they listened to me for an hour
with perfect respect and cordiality. Not an interrup-
tion. I had a really good time, and the leading Tories
who were present have been loud in their praises. . . .
came in the morning, and said it was the finest speech he
ever heard in his life ! So there !

" Isn't London glorious ? And St. Pancras especially.
At last we have sounded the doom of Tory ascendancy
in our part of the world. I am as much amazed at South
St. Pancras as at any result, for to the last I had a
feeling that we could not win. It is tremendous. The
results still come pouring in. I see Newcastle is Liberal
by 7,000 majority. What a time ! Hasn't it more
than atoned for all the misery and suffering of these
last years to see the soul of England awake at
last ? . , ."

198 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

In the summer of this year Home had a motor tour
among the country churches of Hampshire and the
neighbourhood. His companion, as usual on these
occasions, was Dr. J. D. Jones, who writes of this work
in a separate chapter.

Early in 1908 Home paid a visit to Ireland. Mr.
Birrell was then Chief Secretary, and the friendship
between them made Home anxious to study the Irish
question on the spot. He devoted himself especially
to the education question, and had the opportunity of
meeting men of all churches and parties. He returned
home with a good deal of information, which he found
useful afterwards, and a dawning hope that it might be
given to Mr. Birrell to find the solution of the Irish ques-
tion at last. Though his hopes were not realized, he
never wavered in his admiration for the tact and devotion
of the Chief Secretary through those difficult years.
The autumn of the same year found Home engaged in
an abortive attempt to settle the education controversy.
In his diary he gives the following account of the
negotiations : —

" November 18, 1908. — It seems not improbable that
to-night will witness the close of a long and not ignoble
controversy — I mean the fight for a national system of
education. I have not written much in my diary of
the six years of conflict since Mr. Balfour drove through
the Legislature his disastrous Bill in 1902. In doing so
he roused Nonconformist England as it has seldom in
its history been roused ; and he destroyed his own party.
At the General Election nothing was more prominent
than this issue, and the return of some 200 Noncon-
formist members to the House of Commons was the
result. I need not record here the failure of the Govern-
ment to force any satisfactory Education measure
through the House of Lords. Mr. Birrell failed. Mr.
McKenna, who succeeded him, tried to legislate for the

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 199

Passive Resisters, and had to withdraw his measure.
Then he introduced a Bill with a contracting-out clause,
and it was hung up. He retired, and Mr. Walter
Runciman took over the difficult and somewhat thank-
less task. Gradually, however, the leaders of the Church
party came to see that either the purely secular solution
would prevail, or they must come to terms. What I
propose to do is to set out in this diary what I personally
know about the recent negotiations. Rumours had
reached us all that the Archbishop was not unwilling
to compromise, and about a fortnight or three weeks
back Mr. Runciman met a few Nonconformists — Mr.
Shakespeare, Mr. Scott-Lidgett, Sir George White, Sir
J. Compton-Rickett, Dr. Clifford, and myself, and told us
something of the suggested terms of settlement. The
Archbishop has sent in to Mr. Asquith some notes —
very scanty and singularly indefinite, but pointing in the
direction of accommodation. When the others had left,
Mr. Runciman called me back and asked me if I would pre-
pare a formal reply to be sent in to Mr. Asquith putting
the Nonconformist case as against some of these pro-
posals. I undertook to do this in conjunction with Mr.
Shakespeare ; and the following morning three of us—
Scott-Lidgett having been also called in— spent some
hours in drafting a reply. Ours certainly did not lack
definiteness, for we knew exactly what we wanted, and
where the possible area of compromise lay. There were
two outstanding points for negotiation. The one was a
statutory right of entrance for some denominational
teacher into all schools, and the other the right of the
Head Teacher to volunteer to teach denominationalism.
We were strongly opposed to the right having been
yielded for the Clergy to enter the Council Schools ;
and we were resolute that no Head Teacher should be
subject to an illicit test by being permitted to teach
denominationalism. This document was sent in. So
strong was its tone that I am assured that Mr. Asquith

200 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

was profoundly depressed by it, thinking a settlement
almost impossible. After a day or two Runciman
sent for me to lunch with him, and showed me various
letters — including a very important one from Lang, then
Bishop of Stepney. He also told me the opinions of
various Educationists such as Mr. Arthur Acland. It
was clear that if the statutory right of entry were con-
ceded by us a bargain could be struck, despite the bitter
opposition of the High Church clerics and such laymen
as Lord Halifax and Lord Hugh Cecil. I went that night
to consult my father-in-law, who took a very decided
view that the right of entry under guarded conditions
would mean little, and that to have the Anglican Schools
brought under public control was an immense national
gain. The main difficulty that I saw was in persuading
Dr. Clifford ; and Runciman said outright that if Clifford
was against him he could not and would not go on. I
telegraphed to Shakespeare to come and see me, and he
came down early next morning. He proved himself
then, as he commonly does, a most astute adviser, and
he made one fruitful and practical suggestion. He
pointed out that we were not at the stage of bargaining,
and suggested that we should demand from the Govern-
ment the erection and equipment of two undenomina-
tional State Training Colleges in order to settle the old
grievance of insufficient accommodation for Free Church
teachers. Thereupon I posted off to Runciman, and
submitted this proposal to him. He said nothing for
a few minutes. Then he turned to me and said, ' I think
it is a good suggestion.' He put a few objections, and
of course said it was largely a matter for the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. When we had finished our interview
I walked down with him to the Education Office, where
we met Lidgett and the rest. Clifford was ill in bed.
Runciman sketched to the others the possible terms of
peace. We did not agree or disagree ; but Shakespeare
and I undertook to see Clifford. I should say that at this

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 201

meeting Runciman trotted out the idea of the Training
Colleges as if it was a brilliant inspiration of his own.
Well, that afternoon we found Clifford in bed. He was
naturally much alarmed at the prospect of having to
concede entry to the Council Schools, but, as ever, was
wise and statesmanlike. Eventually we got him to
agree that while he could not accept that proposal, yet if
it were made the basis of a compromise his opposition
would be modified if the Government would promise the
Training Colleges. The difficulty was that in arguing
the matter with our people we could not mention the
Training Colleges, as that would only irritate the clerics
and increase their demands. Events now moved rapidly.
There was a meeting of the Nonconformist Members of
Parliament, and with about six exceptions they voted
for the compromise, and never thought of bargaining
for Training Colleges ! Then came a most grotesque
meeting of the Education Committee of the Free Church
Council, at which . . . tiraded against the whole suggested
settlement in no measured terms. The Baptist Union
Committee agreed by 50 to 1 that the compromise should
be accepted. To-day I went alone with Shakespeare
to see Runciman at his request, and it appeared that the
only point left was the Head Teacher, and whether he
should or should not be allowed to continue denomina-
tional teaching during his educational lifetime. This is a
form of compromise which surrenders nothing absolutely
so far as the future is concerned, and exacts no new test
for any teacher. Under it, as it seems to me, denomi-
nationalism in education will die a natural death. We
both urged Runciman to close the bargain if he could
get the Church to agree on these terms. While we were
there news came that the Archbishop, with London,
Southwark, and Stepney, were considering an absolute
acceptance of the Government's terms. The reply is to
be sent to-night. At Runciman's suggestion Shakespeare
and I went on to the House of Commons and saw Lloyd

202 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

George in his private room. We wanted to put him in
touch with Nonconformist opinion, and make him realize
that it was not the existing Head Teacher that was the
crux of the compromise, it was the Council School.
That is what we surrender, and in return we get public
control — not perfect but very substantial — abolition
of tests in the appointments of all teachers, denomina-
tionalism off the rates, and the preservation of the Bible
lesson in the schools. These are the open gains. Then
there is the understanding about the Training Colleges.
This latter is due simply to Shakespeare and myself,
and the origination of the idea was solely his. This
is, I believe, the full and faithful narrative of the trans-
actions as to the compromise so far as I personally was
concerned in them.

" P.S. — After all, nothing came of these proposals.
The High Churchmen in Convocation threw over
their Bishops and destroyed all chances of a settle-
ment."

In June 1909 Home went to Germany as one of a
deputation to the German churches and people in the
interests of a better understanding between the two
nations. A deputation from the German churches had
visited this country the previous year, and the very cordial
spirit which was then manifested had kindled great hopes.
The whole story reads rather sadly in view of the atti-
tude of the German religious leaders during the war.
But there is no doubt that English Christians were
thoroughly justified, by the friendly approaches of their
German brethren, in doing everything they could to meet
them. Outwardly at least the deputation was a great
success. Its members were entertained with lavish
hospitality, and welcomed with a warmth that seemed
genuine enough. Home wrote of his own experiences
to his wife : —

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 203

" S.S. Meteor,

"June 9, 1909.

"... We have been steaming slowly across the North
Sea for nearly twenty-four hours, and are expected to
arrive at Cuxhaven, where we alight to take train to
Hamburg, about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Yesterday was
the most glorious blue day, with only enough ripple to
make the surface of the sea beautiful. To-day is somewhat
cloudy, and there is a little movement of the ship, though
not enough, I should imagine, to upset any but the
weakest brethren. I cannot possibly describe to you the
magnificence of the German hospitality. This vessel is
most sumptuously furnished. Everbody has a cabin to
himself, and our wants are anticipated at every turn.
As for the meals, well, each one is a banquet of a most
artistic order. They smother us with guide-books and
all kinds of literature bearing on the two nations, the
Churches, and the purpose of our visit. The German
Committee on board consist of the most delightful of
men — very enthusiastic and with elaborate courtesies,
but eager to make everybody feel at home. We have
had many speeches, all breathing the same spirit of
goodwill and mutual appreciation. The Roman
Catholics here are, I should say, carefully chosen to
make a good impression. They include my friend
President Windle, of Queen's College, Cork, to whom
Birrell sent me about the Irish University. All of
them are able men, and know how to hold up their
end of the stick. We have only four Bishops on
board — Percival, Welldon, Taylor Smith, and Percival
Baynes ; the latter is surely, from his account to
me, a sort of connection of yours ! There is a parson,
who is something at St. George's Hospital, who
came and claimed acquaintance on the score of
friendship with . . .

" When we arrived the ship was decked with flags
from stem to stern, and a band was playing on deck.

204 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

The band plays a regular programme during meals and
on deck in the evening.

" We have evidently a heavy week of engagements
in front of us, for there is quite a pile of elaborate invi-
tations to state and civic banquets. ..."

" En route to BERLIN,
" June 11, 1909.

"... Our programmes leave us not a minute for
letter-writing, and so I am trying to get something
written in the train. We ha,ve had a marvellous time
at Hamburg. I stayed with delightful people, who
spoke English well, and sang and played to us in great
form. The day's proceedings began with a meeting
in one of the finest of the Lutheran churches. The
music was worthy of the best Cathedral choir. Dr.
Grimm, glorious in his Lutheran ruff, made an oration
of welcome in German and Newton Marshall replied
most admirably in a bi-lingual speech. Then we drove
round the lakes and saw something of the extreme beauty
of Hamburg, which seems to me the loveliest continental
city I ever saw. It is all avenues, open spaces, lakes,
and harbour. Our first banquet was in the Rathaus, with
the Burgomeister in the chair. It was a splendid and
elaborate function, and the President's speech was the
most notable oration from a civic dignitary I ever heard.
It was the more significant as he is a close friend of the
Emperor, and his declarations for peace had no uncertain
sound. Then we went round the harbour, which is quite
a wonderful sight, and at night had a second most
sumptuous banquet in a great hotel on the lake. The
speeches were good, and received with great enthusiasm.
At the close we went out into a perfect night for illumina-
tions and fireworks on the lake. The scene was like
a glorified Venice, with multitudes of boats carrying
Japanese lanterns. The rockets were tremendous and
the set piece most elaborate. Then the military band

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 205

played music to an immense crowd, and we got home
about midnight. ..."

" BERLIN,

" June 13, 1909.

" . . . It is hopeless to try to write to you all that has
happened to us since we arrived here, for every available
hour has been filled. First of all I must tell you about
my hostess, who is a very charming person connected
with the Von Rankes — the great historian and his family.
Did I tell you that she broke her arm the day before I
arrived, but most pluckily got up and received me at
the house ? In the evening Fraulein — whose name I
have discovered is Von Heylen-Linden — took me down
to the great Philharmonic Halle, where there was by far
the biggest and most brilliant audience we have had.
There were two thousand people present, and the Hall
was covered with little tables at which they served tea.
This was the meeting at which I had to speak, and as I
had taken some trouble, you will be glad to hear that I
got on pretty well. The thing that pleased me most was
that Harnack came up and thanked me, and declared
he was honoured to meet me. This pleased me more
than anything that ever happened, for I think him
probably the greatest living literary man in Europe.
After this I was smothered with congratulations, even
our Roman Catholic representatives being more than
kind. Next day we visited striking places in Berlin,
which is certainly a most stately and beautiful city full
of avenues and statues, and monuments celebrating
victory. At midday was the grand municipal banquet,
at which we were received by the Burgomasters with
their chains of office. It was a fine occasion ; but the
great sensation of our table was caused by the scepticism
of a very demonstrative Burgomaster as to my age. He
would not believe that I had been a paster twenty years
in London. Then he asked me if I had any children

206 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

and to satisfy him that I had seven I produced their
photos. This excited him beyond words. He jumped
up and showed it to another Burgomaster, who by chance
had seven children too, and he seized me by the hand
and shouted with laughter. There was quite a scene,
and we English enjoyed the fun hugely. ' Ach ! ' cried
this German Burgomaster, * Germanic must grow if you
haf families so big— Yes ? ' (Great guffaws.)

" I did my shopping for the children in the afternoon,
and then at night we went to the house of Graf (Count)
Douglas, where we were entertained by the Prussian
House of Commons — glorious in orders and decorations
and uniforms. I sat next to Herr Graf von Recke-
Wolmerstein — there's a name for you ! — a dear, benevo-
lent old gentleman, who chatted away about England
and peace. . . ."

In the spring of 1909 Home was elected chairman of
the Congregational Union of England and Wales in
succession to his friend J. D. Jones. He entered on the
work of the office a year later, of which more in its place.
Meanwhile other and wider interests claimed him. For
some time past it had become clear to students of politics
that a conflict between the Commons and Lords was
inevitable. The flagrant partizanship of the Upper
House and the consequent impotence of any Liberal
Government, however strongly supported by the people,
had produced a situation that could no longer be toler-
ated. Matters came to a crisis when the Lords threw out
Mr. Lloyd George's Budget, which, among other things,
made provision for the first time for old age pensions.
Such a challenge the Liberals were bound to take up, and
it became the leading issue at a General Election early in
the New Year. In this election Home was invited to
contest Ipswich in the Liberal interest, along with Sir
Daniel Ford Goddard, " than whom no man ever had a
finer and kinder colleague." After careful consideration

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 207

and consultation with his friends, he accepted the invita-
tion, and after a brief but brilliant campaign, was trium-
phantly returned. He had himself no compunction as
to his duty in the matter. He felt that the action of the
Lords had raised an issue of such supreme importance
that it called for unusual sacrifices. He felt that
" the claim of the Peers to determine the financial policy
of the country carried us back to the days when John
Hampden broke the power of absolutism on this very
question of the hereditary right to tax England apart
from the consent of her representatives. No good
Independent could be outside that fight." On the ques-
tion as to whether a minister should become a Member
of Parliament Home was equally emphatic. He had
no use for the glass-house theory of the ministry. He
regarded a minister, not as an ascetic or recluse, but as
one who was bound to put into practice the principles
which he preached to others. He contended that the
point at issue had been practically conceded by allowing
ministers to sit on various local authorities, and that
therefore there was no logic in their exclusion from the
national Legislature. It was but another and necessary
application of those democratic principles for which
Congregationalists stood. He was therefore proud to
think that he was probably the first minister in charge
of a church who had sat in Parliament since the days of
Mr. Praise-God Barebones. When the invitation from
Ipswich came, he could see no reason for refusing it,
except the obvious one, that he had already quite enough
to do. It was the gravity of the issues at stake which
drove him to make the sacrifice, and he, at least, never
regretted it. Before the year was out, however, the
death of King Edward caused the dissolution of
Parliament, and a second election had to be held at
Ipswich. Home's colleague was ill at the time, and
though he himself was then chairman of the Congre-
gational Union, he had to bear the brunt of the fight.

208 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

It is a remarkable testimony to his hold on the
constituency that he and his colleague were returned
by very much the same majorities as on the previous
occasion. Home himself attributed some of this
success to two very fine and characteristic speeches de-
livered by Mr. Lloyd George on the eve of the poll.

In May 1910 Home entered on the chairmanship of the
Congregational Union. Among the duties of the chair-
man is the delivery of two addresses, one at the spring
and the other at the autumn meetings, in which he is ex-
pected to speak his mind and give some lead to ministers
and churches on some question affecting their life,
work, or witness. Home's choice of subjects was
characteristic. At the spring meeting he spoke on
" Anarchy and Brotherhood," and in the autumn on
*' The Church by Grace established." In the former he
dealt with the new valuation set by Christianity on the
individual, its disintegrating effect on society, and the
need for its legitimate fulfilment in a wider fellowship
and brotherhood. He pleaded for an international
conception of the Christian Church, and claimed that
Congregationalism, with its traditional emphasis on both
freedom and brotherhood, had a unique opportunity
in a time of social unrest and despair. His words were
timely when they were first uttered, and recent events
have only rendered them the more so. The second
address was a powerful vindication of the Free Church
ideal set forth with humour and eloquence, and without
a trace of bitterness. This, too, has something more
than a merely ephemeral interest.

For some time past the Congregational Union had
been seriously disturbed by what came to be known as
the New Theology controversy. It was caused by the
teaching of the Rev. R. J. Campbell, then minister of
the City Temple, who stood for a thin type of modernist
doctrine hardly distinguishable from Unitarianism.
Mr. Campbell had a certain following among the

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 209

younger ministers, and his teaching received an at-
tention in the religious press quite out of proportion
to its worth. This led to a reaction among some of
the more conservative elements in the churches, and
it was feared that an attempt would be made to raise
a heresy hunt and drive Mr. Campbell and his followers
from Congregationalism. The matter came to a head at
the May meetings, when Home was in the chair. Mr.
Campbell was given a hearing, and Home then stated the
position of the Union in a very wise and conciliatory
speech. The Union has always taken up the position
that it has no power to excommunicate. It suffers men
to sow their theological wild oats, and lets the wheat
and tares grow together, trusting in that Divine Spirit
Who leads men into all the truth. Its tolerant attitude
was never more signally vindicated than in this case.
The controversy soon ceased, and later on Mr. Campbell
joined the Church of England, and withdrew his book
on the New Theology from circulation.

Part of Home's work as chairman of the Union was to
visit the churches up and down the country. He could
hardly do more of this than he was accustomed to in
the normal course of things, but he gave himself to it
with his usual unsparing enthusiasm. His position
as a Member of Parliament added to his prestige among
the churches, and both in the pulpit and on the platform
he carried with him a message of inspiration and en-
couragement that was good to hear. It is not too much
to say that among the Free Churches and Brotherhoods
all over the land he was looked to with confidence and
affection as the leader of their choice. In addition to
his other duties, he was vice-chairman of the Brother-
hood Council, and in this capacity he went to Paris, with
a number of his Brotherhood members, in the spring
of 1911, to attend the fourth international conference.
Both at Paris and Rouen he had a great reception, and
made a very marked impression on the French by the
14

210 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

vigour and vivacity of his speaking. He wrote of the
visit to his wife : —

"April 17, 1911.

"... I postponed writing to you until our great
meeting was over so that I might tell you about it. It
was at five o'clock, at the Temple de 1'Oratoire, in the
Rue St. Honore, and it was a wonderful sight. They
say there has been no such Protestant meeting for years.
Every inch of space in balconies, galleries, and area was
thronged. We had a Monod, a D'Aubigny, and a host
of other famous Frenchmen, including deputies, on a large
platform. All the addresses were interpreted, but we
sang the hymns in their English and French versions to
the same tune, and the singing was very impressive.
I think you would agree that I made a good speech. All
the French people metaphorically fell on my neck after-
wards ; and Pastor Gonnelle, the Editor of the Christian
Socialist, or something, discoursed on me in French in a
way to make me blush. The thing that brought the
house down was a declamation of Danton's 'L'audace,
et 1'audace et toujours Paudace.' They fairly shouted
with joy. I went home with D'Aubigny, and we have
spent hours talking politics. He is a charming man, and
full of information. To-morrow we are to have a
magnificent reception at Rouen. They meet us with a
band and banners, and the whole city is, we understand,
to be enftte. The Mayor and dignitaries receive us.

" Our men are splendid ! They are behaving magnifi-
cently, and are elated beyond measure. Of course the
weather is superb. Versailles was perfect, and Paris
looks its best. They are acquiring heaps of information.
Their great idea is to find out about prices, cost of living,
rent, and so on. Their good humour is inexhaustible,
and they are most popular everywhere. I am very proud
of them."

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 211

The following extracts from diary and letters deal with
Home's early experiences in Parliament : —

" I ought to set down here a full and particular account
of how I became a Member of Parliament. All good
Liberals and Free Churchmen had been profoundly
stirred by the action of the House of Lords in rejecting
a Finance Bill — this being the first serious interference
with finance by the Peers for 250 years and more. All
of us felt a call to do the best possible for our country
in this hour of her danger ; but I confess that no thought
of standing for Parliament crossed my own mind until
I got a sudden letter from Jowett saying that he must
see me on a most urgent matter. It turned out that he
had been at Merthyr Tydvil, and a deputation had seen
him, to ask whether he would use his influence to persuade
me to stand. He agreed to do so, and not only talked
me round, but talked Mr. W. H. Brown and others round,
so that I agreed to stand if I was asked to do so. Mean-
while, and before the decision of Merthyr was made, my
old friend Sir Daniel Ford Goddard, of Ipswich, rang me
up on the telephone to ask me to stand as his colleague.
Of course I could only await events ; and when the
Merthyr people decided that they must have a bi-lingual
candidate, Goddard rang me up again, and so urged
matters that I consented, went to Ipswich, addressed
the four hundred, and was unanimously and most
enthusiastically adopted. The following week we had
a huge opening meeting of our campaign, and then a
whirlwind fortnight. I fancy it would have been
impossible to crowd more thrills into any election fight.
They tell me that in all the political history of Ipswich
there have been no meetings to compare with ours.
Then, as it happens, we had visits from both Balfour and
Asquith. The former let his party down pretty badly,
and in a speech replying to him I fastened on to a sentence
of his in which he said that Tariff Reform would give the

212 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

' hope of the promise of employment.' Of course we
rang the changes on the dear food and the cheap ' hope.'
The phrase caught on, and wherever I went the people
shouted ' hope, hope.' I came to be known as ' Hope.'
Literally, I believe, we killed Balfour with that phrase.
Asquith was in excellent form, and after the meeting a
few of us sat chatting for an hour or two. Asquith was
most genial. He unbent over coffee and cigars, and
discussed the Cabinet, especially laughing good-
humouredly about John Burns, who, he assured us, would
rush out of a Cabinet Council to follow a fire- engine,
would stop a runaway horse en route, and always
continue to be snapshoted by a photographer in
ambush. Well, the fight went on, and the eventful
Saturday came. The amazing thing to me is how
cocksure the other side were. On the eve of the poll
they had a big meeting, and they congratulated one
another as if they had actually won. They smothered
the town in blue on polling day, and their motors were
as the sand by the sea-shore innumerable. But elections
are won by voters, not by motors, and when the votes
were counted we were in. My majority was under 300,
but Sir Daniel's over 400. The wildest scenes of enthu-
siasm followed the declaration of the poll. All Ipswich
seemed to go delirious. There was not a Tory to be seen
anywhere. They carried me about the town, and it
was nearly three in the morning before the demonstra-
tion ceased."

To his Mother

"January 16, 1910.

" It is Sunday evening, and I am lying in bed resting,
luxuriously. It was a tremendous fight yesterday, and
I can never put down on paper the final scenes. On the
eve of the poll the Tories had a meeting to celebrate their
inevitable victory. They talked in the most amazing
way of winning the greatest triumph East Anglia had

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 213

ever known. They issued the vilest print ever published,
consisting of one horrible travesty of all I had ever been
or done. A compositor sent me an advance copy, with
a letter saying he thought it the deepest depths of
blackguardism. Then they unloosed the public-house
influence against us. It was all part of the concerted
attack. The word had gone forth that I was at all costs
to be beaten. Well, we had our chance. It lay in the
constancy and enthusiasm of the working-men, and they
rose to the occasion. Threatened by their employers,
tempted by the trade, they remembered the issue at
stake, and they saved Ipswich.

" When the result was declared, the scene baffled all
description. The crowd made one great rush for me, and
swept me up on their shoulders and heads across the
square and down the road to the Liberal headquarters.
I was conscious only of trying to shake thousands of
hands and that great grimy fellows were laughing and
crying all around me. Some of these working chaps tried
to kiss me ! I heard someone shout, ' Don't make fools
of yourselves, chaps.' It is amazing that I did not go
back to the hotel in sections. To speak seemed im-
possible. Everybody was delirious with joy. From
the Liberal headquarters to the Hotel was one seething
host of triumphant men, who had many of them risked
everything to save liberty. From the balcony of our
hotel we looked down on thousands and thousands of
waving, cheering people. How they rent the night air
with shouts ! How long it went on I don't know, but
somewhere about 1.30 we did get away and to bed.

" This morning I came to London, and this afternoon
had the most extraordinary ovation I have ever seen at
Whitefields. The men were overwhelming. They all
stood up and waved handkerchiefs, I should say for
fully five minutes.

" L. has come in, and also my Father-in-law, who
seems highly delighted."

214 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

To his Mother

" HOUSE OF COMMONS,

" February 17, 1910.

" I felt I must write a line to you from this historic
house, just to assure you that I actually am here. A
few minutes ago I made an Affirmation of everlasting
loyalty to the King and the Constitution. I sincerely
hope that means loyalty to the People and especially to
the poor. There is no other reason why I should be
here that I can see.

"It is an immense place, and I am very far from
knowing my way about yet. This Library is a magnifi-
cent suite of rooms. Most of the policemen seemed to
know me, and they are most friendly and solicitous for
my welfare. I have had a very cordial welcome from
heaps of Liberals, and by and by shall begin to feel at
home. At present I am rather weak and shaky as the
result of the ' flue,' and am taking as much rest and quiet
as I can get. But this wretched influenza knocks the
very life out of one. ..."

To his Mother

" LONDON,

" March 12, 1910.

" I am sorry to say it was not a very good maiden
speech, but perhaps nobody's maiden effort is very good.
The House was kind, even cordial, and the Press quite
too complimentary. The worst is that we talk and talk,
and the poor Congo wretches die and die. All the while
I was thinking of them and how small a thing it is to
make a good speech when what is needed is to do some-
thing.

" However, public attention is directed to the matter,
and we can only pray that those in whose hands the
matter rests may be inspired to make another effort. I
will send you the Ipswich paper, which has a fairly long
report. The actual speech took about twenty minutes.

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 215

I did not exactly feel nervous ; but it is a weird sort of
feeling, unlike any other. I am not at all sorry to have
had the taste of it for once ! . ."

To his Mother

" LONDON,

" April 15, 1910.

" It was very jolly to receive so many letters to-day,
even though they do come as a reminder that five and
forty years have stolen away. The eve of this birthday
I am never likely to forget, for nobody who passed
through last night will be able to dismiss the scene from
his memory. Indeed, I felt it was well worth while to
have passed through all the fag and trouble of the election
to have been present in this House when that historic
occasion was witnessed. Nobody could possibly describe
the intensity of passion, excitement, and enthusiasm
crowded into a few pregnant hours. Asquith acquitted
himself really well for almost the first time in this
Parliament ; and he shone by contrast with Balfour,
whose early tactics seemed to me to be thoroughly
unworthy. The jubilation of Liberals who have seats
to win or seats to lose over the frank disclosure of policy
is overwhelming. Last night we were like men from
whose hearts a great load has been lifted, and who were
in a very reaction of delight and confidence. We felt
now that we were free to fight our battle with hands
absolutely unmanacled, and that means victory I think.
We shall also get the Budget, and that will help us in
the country, for we shall have done something in this
Parliament."

To his Mother

" IFSWIOH,

" November 30, 1910.

"... I am drawing all the lightning, as most un-
fortunately Sir Daniel is laid up seriously, and will
probably not be able to be at another meeting. I like

216 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

being handicapped and having to fight against odds.
Last night the most wonderful thing of all happened, and
it struck this funny old town dumb. The Tories have
made personal attacks on me, of course, and the work-
men devised a great stroke. When I left the schools,
where we had had glorious meetings, they met me with
a carriage all decorated — oh, very dandy ! — and dragged
Katharine and myself all round the town amidst scenes
of enthusiasm which they say are unparalleled. The
whole street opposite our hotel was then densely crowded
with a wildly excited throng, waving flags, and shouting
and cheering tremendously. The whole town seemed
beside itself.

" Of course we do not build on these demonstrations.
We are fighting hard, and the issue is with the Higher
Authority. If He wants me in Parliament He will elect
me on Saturday, and if not, it is Amen and Amen.
Anyhow it is a good fight to be in, and I am glad and
cheerful and quite offensively gay."

To his Mother

" HOUSE or COMMONS,
" February 23, 1911.

"... We had a most wonderful time last night when
the Parliament Bill was read a first time. It might have
been a Whitefields Men's Meeting, so splendid and
vociferous was the enthusiasm. Old, staid, respectable
people stood up and waved handkerchiefs, and Mr.
Asquith had quite an overwhelming ovation when he
walked up the House with his Bill.

" You would have been interested in the opening of the
Manchester Church House on Tuesday. It is a very
fine pile of buildings, admirably adapted for its purpose,
and likely to be invaluable as a social centre for all our
churches and ministers in Lancashire. It was delightful
to see the commemorative tablet to Mrs. Rylands and
hear the many tributes to her. ..."

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 217

To his Mother

" LONDON,

"April 24, 1911.

" . . . You have no idea how delightful and successful
our Paris trip was. The men behaved like the perfect
gentleman they are, and formed the happiest party
imaginable. Then the weather was perfect — real
weather, gay and blue. We saw Paris, Versailles, and
Rouen, to say nothing of the Seine Valley, to perfec-
tion. Though I have been to Paris several times, I
never saw the City look so splendid and sumptuous.
Of course it was crowded with visitors, and the Easter
functions at the churches were as elaborate as ever.
You will see from the Christian World some account of
our meetings. The one in the Oratoire in Paris was an
astonishment to the Paris people. The great church
was crowded to suffocation, and the enthusiasm was
contagious. Of course, speaking through an interpreter
is a little trying, but I had the impression that the
great majority of people understood what I said in
English. The Rouen people were quite wonderful in
their hospitality and simple kindness, and they would
have done anything for us. My own impression is that
there is a bigger and better day dawning for French
Protestantism if only the leaders are brave and enter-
prising. Everything depends on that. We had a
glorious Men's Meeting here yesterday. ..."

The following extracts from his book Pulpit, Platform,
and Parliament (now out of print) give Home's views
as to his entering the House of Commons : —

" I know quite well that theoretical objection is raised
against ministers of religion entering the House of
Commons ; but certainly there is no place where, so far
as the subjects discussed are concerned, they are more
likely to feel at home. And surely, if these subjects

218 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

are definitely religious and involve for their settlement
religious considerations, are there not others which may
be pronounced so, unless religion and humanity have no
connection with one another ? What of the Bill regu-
lating the administration of coal-mines for the superior
safety and welfare of the miner ? What of the Bill
constituting a tribunal to which he can appeal for a fair
living wage ? I would add, also, what of the Bill giving
to the Trade Unionist the right to protect his interests
and the interests of his fellows in Parliament ? Above
all, what of the Bill which passed in review every class
of worker in the kingdom, and took counsel for their
insurance against ill-health and unemployment ? The
fact of the matter is, that there is no Church meeting
held in this country that is more constantly and prac-
tically concerned with living religious problems than
the House of Commons."

" If anyone ever doubts the truth of the famous
saying that every political question is at its roots a re-
ligious question, let him come to the House of Commons.
No doubt if we in England were not so persistently and
incurably religious we should be a much easier people
to govern. That is why the statesman is often so im-
patient of those fundamental beliefs which can neither
be extinguished nor ignored. What impressed me most
of all, as a new member, was the amount of time which
the House of Commons devotes to arguing religious
questions. Now the historic attitude of England has
to be asserted on the subject of slavery, in the Congo
or on the Putumayo. Now we have to reargue the
whole problem of education, into which this element
of religion enters so deeply. Now we are invited to
discuss ecclesiastical disorders, and to suggest a remedy.
Now we are plunged into the pros and cons of the Ne
Temere decree, and the relations of Church and State
in respect of marriage. Now the Census Bill affords a

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 219

plausible pretext for raising the question of enumerating
Church adherents. Now passions are aroused over pro-
posals to modify the King's Accession Oath ; now the
Regency Bill revives ancient controversies over Church
Establishments. Later on comes the great Home Rule
issue, renewing in its crudest form the old ' No Popery '
agitation. Welsh Disestablishment is accepted as the
opportunity for stating the positive argument for a
Free Church in a Free State. The Scotch Temperance
Bill comes to us demanded by religious men on religious
grounds. The Bill for suppressing the White Slave
Traffic is backed by the whole force of the Churches,
and nobody can expect them to be silent on the recon-
struction of the Poor Law."

" There has always been a sort of unwritten law against
ministers of religion being members of the House of
Commons ever since the Cromwellian Parliaments of
1653 and 1654. It is not easy to see why. There are
literally dozens of them in the House of Lords ; and it
must obviously be better that if they have a voice in
Parliament they should owe it not to privilege, but to the
desire of the people freely expressed. More than one
ex-minister of religion has attained a position of influence
in the House of Commons, such as Mr. Henry Richard
and Mr. Allanson Picton. But since the days of Praise-
God Barebones I question whether any minister in
charge of a Church has been returned as a Member of
Parliament until my own election in January 1910. Yet
for the life of me I cannot see that there is any difference
in principle between sitting on a parish council or an
education authority or a board of guardians and sitting
in the Legislature that deals with national affairs on a
more majestic scale. All the reforms which experience
had taught me were most urgently needed, if Christian
righteousness was to be more than a pulpit phrase and
was to become an established fact, were jeopardized by

220 WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT

the predominance of the House of Lords in the national
counsels. It seemed to me then, and it seems to me
now, to be at least as much a part of my business, as a
democrat and a social reformer, to seek to perfect the
machinery through which the national conscience can
express itself as to endeavour to educate and stimulate
that conscience.

" When the unexpected invitation from Ipswich came
to me, I could see no reason for refusing except the ob-
vious one that I had as much work on hand as one man
could reasonably undertake. As to criticism, you have
to learn sooner or later that if you escape criticism it is
only because you are not doing enough to deserve it.
My Church and congregation, by this time, thoroughly
understood the ideal which we were striving to realize.
It was an extraordinary step for a minister to take ;
but then, as I said in my opening speech in Ipswich,
it was an extraordinary crisis. Not for hundreds of
years had so grave a constitutional issue been raised ;
and to my thinking all social progress was bound up in
the decision. No Government deserves to be in power
in modern England that will not seek to effect by legis-
lation the more equitable distribution of wealth. The
Budget was a courageous attempt to accomplish some-
thing in this direction, and I for one felt that it had the
sanction of the principles I am proud to preach."

It must not be supposed that Home's political
preoccupations in any way .diminished his interest
in the great work at Whitefields. His superintendency
of the mission was always his first charge. But the
very problems it raised and the interests inseparable
from it drove him into wider activities. The social
environment of the place and the work connected with
the Brotherhood suggested, in an imperative form, the
need for a closer application of Christian principles
to public affairs. Home's own consciousness of his

WHITEFIELDS AND PARLIAMENT 221

mission, supported by the urgency of many of his friends,
notably of Dr. Jowett, drove him to become a protag-
onist in the cause. But all the time his life was centred
in Whitefields, and from it he drew his inspiration.
With him the religious side of the work always came
first. He believed profoundly in the adaptability of
his Gospel to the people who crowded his Sunday evening
services, and he gave them of his best. They were
evangelistic in the truest sense of the word, and the story
of the good they accomplished will never be fully told.
Home was a true shepherd of souls, and the great mission
which he conducted in the Oxford Music Hall, along with
Dr. Campbell Morgan, with its careful house-to-house
visitation and its bold and sane presentation of the
Christian message, was a model of what such efforts
should be. He had no belief in the common complaint
that the working classes were unwilling to listen to the
Gospel. But he was convinced that it needed to be
presented to them in the right way, and that a thoroughly
democratic atmosphere of sympathy and brotherhood
was the first condition of success. This atmosphere
he succeeded in producing at Whitefields, which became
a spiritual home for all sorts and conditions of men.
He gathered round him a band of eager workers, and was
well backed up by able and devoted assistants like Mr.
Holmes and Mr. Chisholm ; but the central inspiration
and driving force were his alone. Whitefields was a
really great achievement, and remains to this day the
best monument of Home's wisdom, energy, and faith.

CHAPTER VII

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

(Contributed by L. T. HORNE, C.B.E.)

IN the House of Commons, Home, while supporting the
Liberal Government in the great measures of political
reform which occupied Parliament during the years from
1910 to 1914, devoted himself chiefly to those subjects
— such as religious education and Welsh Disestab-
lishment— on which he could speak with some authority
as a representative Free Churchman, or which made a
direct humanitarian appeal — such as the treatment of
the natives of the Congo, Angola, and New Hebrides,
the proposed arbitration treaties with the United States
of America, the possibility of mediation in the war
between Italy and Turkey, and the improvement of the
condition of children under the Poor Law.

His more important speeches were on the Congo (two),
the Prevention of Destitution Bill (founded on the
Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission 1905-9),
the Accession Declaration Bill (intended to relieve a new
sovereign on accession from having to make in public
a declaration against some of the distinctive doctrines
of Roman Catholicism), the appointment of justices
of the peace, the Education Acts (Single School Areas)
Amendment Bill, the Welsh Disestablishment Bill, and
the Government of Ireland Bill.

His maiden speech was on the Foreign Office Vote, and
was occupied in urging Sir Edward Grey to use to the
full the influence of Great Britain in support of the
reforms in the government of the Congo Province, which

222

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 223

the Belgian people, under the leadership of their new
King Albert, were beginning to effect. The speech
ended on a note reminiscent of the action of Cromwell
and Milton on behalf of the oppressed Protestants of
Piedmont. He said : —

" I do not suppose I am a very great authority on the
value of the mailed fist in politics. Whenever I discuss
the question of the Army and the Navy with my friends,
they always tell me the great advantage a large Army
and Navy give is that they increase our weight in the
councils of Europe. We are shortly to be asked in this
House to vote a very great increase in the British Navy.
I should like to know how many extra Dreadnoughts
we shall have to build in order to secure the recognition
of our Treaty rights, and to see that our word is respected
in the councils of Europe.

" Personally, I do not believe it is additional material
weight we need ; I believe it is additional moral weight
we need. I believe that the great loss is the loss of the
old English spirit, something of that fidelity and loyalty
to the cause of the poor and weak and the oppressed
which once made the British nation not only respected
but feared throughout the world. And we want to say,
if we may, to the members of His Majesty's Government
and to the Foreign Secretary, that we regard this matter
as a matter which is going to test the reality of the
English character and English spirit ; and we beseech
them to understand our sense of how deeply British
credit and British honour are involved in this matter
of the Congo."

The proposal to modify the King's declaration at his
coronation met with hearty support from Home : —

" We sympathize," he said, " with those whose desire
it has been all through that the Roman Catholic subjects

224 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

of His Majesty should be relieved from a slur and stigma
upon their religion. Personally, my objection to the
old form of Declaration is just as strong as the objection
which any Roman Catholic can feel to it. I think we
insult ourselves when we insist that our King should use
such words as ' idolatrous ' and ' superstitious ' in regard
to what are the sacred convictions of those who belong,
it is true, to another part of the Church, but which is
none the less the same Church to which we belong our-
selves.

" I do not regard Roman Catholics as idolaters. I
regard them as fellow- Christians, and I am a great deal
more sanguine of their ultimate destinies than they are
of mine."

How, he asked, could Roman Catholics be expected
to co-operate in united Christian movements, such as
that in support of better international relations, if
Protestants insisted on the King publicly insulting the
Roman faith ?

But yet Home would not drop the King's declaration
of faith altogether. No doubt the Protestant succession
of the British sovereigns was secured by Acts of Parlia-
ment and not by any such declaration. From a legal
point of view there was no more case for the coronation
than for the declaration. But, he held, "it is abso-
lutely right, proper, and advisable that the Sovereign,
on this occasion of his coronation, should make on
behalf of the Empire, and in the face of the world, a
distinct and deliberate proclamation of the position he
holds."

The substitute form of declaration as originally drafted
had run, " I am a faithful member of the Church by law
established in England." To this Home objected, " be-
cause we do not think the Coronation of the King is a
suitable or opportune time for him to insist publicly
on the fact that he is in any sense the ecclesiastical

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 225

monopoly of a single denomination." The form origin-
ally proposed separated by implication the King from
the vast majority of his Protestant subjects throughout
his dominions.

Owing largely to the criticisms of Free Churchmen,
the form was altered to " I am a faithful Protestant " ;
and while approving the change, Home hoped there
would be no attempt to say that the amendment was
the triumph of one particular branch of the Protestant
Church over another. In all such matters his policy was
immediate co-operation and ultimate unity among
Christians of all creeds and varieties.

In urging that benches of magistrates should be
" more representative of the interests over which the
jurisdiction of the Commission of Peace extends," he
spoke from intimate knowledge and experience of the
disadvantages under which Liberals and Nonconformists
labour in country districts, where no one of their way
of thinking is a magistrate. But he showed that the
question was not merely a party or sectarian one.

" I am," he said, " one of those who believe that there
is no question more vital to the social well-being of
England than this one. A very eminent man once said
that the greatest asset of England was its belief in justice.
We shall have another asset one of these days for
England, and that is the belief in the certainty of getting
justice. It is all very well to believe in justice as an
abstract proposition, but the people in the rural districts
want to believe that they can get some kind of real
justice, and that they can get it with some degree of cer-
tainty. The most necessary thing for our country at
the present time is that the people shall really come to
believe that in the administration of justice particular
prejudices will not merely be accepted for principle
and that property will not be above human life,"

For a solution of the controversy about the religious
15

226 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

teaching in the public elementary schools of the country,
Home laboured incessantly, both by public speech and
by private negotiation in Parliament and outside.

In March 1912 he spoke in support of a Bill intro-
duced by Sir G. Croydon Marks for dealing with the
special difficulty of single- school areas. In nearly every
case the religious teaching in such schools is superin-
tended, if not given, by the Anglican clergyman, and
Nonconformist parents of children compelled to attend
such schools have an admitted grievance.

The Bill proposed that in schools serving areas where
there was no other public elementary school, the religious
teaching should be on the simple basis common to the
denominations. The idea of finding common ground
in religious teaching was due to men like W. H. Smith
and the Earl of Shaftesbury. In the Second Reading
Debate he said : —

" I am one of those Nonconformists who have fought
year after year for the maintenance, if possible, of a
Bible lesson as an integral part of the curriculum of the
public schools in this country. I agree that it may not
be possible to maintain that position, but I shall deeply
deplore it if it is not. The secularists of this country
have never raised any strong objection to that. They
feel that to exempt their children from that which has
had so large a part in the history of the world and in the
history of our own literature, and which stands for so
much in the life of the English people, would be a mis-
fortune, and they are willing, as we are, that their children
should know the contents of the Scriptures of our faith.
As long as it is possible to maintain that, I hope the
House and the country will maintain it. But if the
price we have got to pay for that is that in those districts
where, after all, we are probably in a small minority,
and have most to stand against, there is to be this unjust
and unfair discrimination as regards our children, then

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 227

I believe the great body of the Free Churchmen of this
country will pass over to the purely secular side of this
question, and will agree that the only possible solution
is to exclude the Bible altogether from the schools."

The proposal to disestablish the Episcopal Church in
Wales gave Home the opportunity of pleading before
the House of Commons for some of his dearest ideals
and convictions. A free church in a free land, a volun-
tary union of all the Christian bodies in the promotion
of the Kingdom of God, was his aspiration and aim ; and
he was convinced that a necessary preliminary was to
set the Episcopal Church free from State control.

In May 1912, on the second reading of the Welsh
Disestablishment Bill, he made a comparatively long
speech. After vindicating the motives of the Libera-
tionists from the accusation of malice and cupidity
by referring to Mr. Chamberlain and other former
advocates of the cause, he said : —

" There are two propositions contained in this Bill,
which I take everybody opposite will agree are at any
rate arguable and tenable propositions. The first is that
so far as the people of Wales are concerned, they have
the right as a people to clothe themselves in those
religious forms and in those forms of faith and of worship
which they believe to be appropriate to their own life,
and that they do not believe that it is in the power of
any outside authority to impose upon them as a people
forms of worship and forms of faith with which they are
out of sympathy. In the second place — and this is per-
haps a more disputable proposition, but one which has
had very sound experience behind it — we believe that
tithe is, as has been maintained, essentially a tax ;
that it is imposed by the State ; that it is recoverable
at law ; and that in connection with a resettlement, it
is within the power of the State to consider whether a

228 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

tax which it levies may not be, in its application, de-
voted to other uses that might be more to the general
interests of the community. Those are the two propo-
sitions contained in this Bill. I venture to suggest
that they are perfectly honest and straightforward
propositions, and, at any rate, we may advocate them
without being accused of such motives as have been
stated from the other side."

To condemn the religion and morals of a country
which has no established Church was, he pointed out, a
reflexion on the Dominions of Canada and Australia,
where that condition held good.

" What is one of the consequences of this situation ?
It is that out there they are all favourable and con-
fidently talking about Christian union. There, under
their freer conditions, all classes of the Christian Churches
are coming together to plan their strategy and to con-
sider how they can best co-operate one with another.
Christian union, everybody will tell you, is distinctly in
the air."

The argument from the experience of other countries
was a favourite one with him, and was further developed.

" Let me ask hon. Members to consider, not the case
of Wales, which has been so well argued from that point
of view, but an illustration which has not been advanced
in this debate, but which, to my mind, is exceedingly
striking, and which, as it happens, I can use in this
House without offending the feelings of some hon.
Members opposite, who would say, ' Oh, yes, you are
talking to us about what would be good for our Church
just at the time when you are proposing to disestablish
it.' Take the States of America. In America, as the
House knows, for many generations there were two

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 229

established Churches. The Church to which I belong,
the Congregational Church, was the established Church
of New England. The Episcopal Church was the
established Church of the Southern States. It was Dr.
Pusey who said that the Episcopal Church in America
first struck root when it was deprived of all State aid.
Then, and not till then, did the Episcopal Church begin
to exercise and to wield the influence which to-day it
undoubtedly does wield in the American States.

" Now let me put this fact, which is much more
striking. If hon. Members have ever seen the list of
the great Christian communions that hold the people of
the United States within their borders, they will have
noticed that at the bottom of the list numerically stand
the two Churches that were once established. The
Congregational and the Episcopal Churches are at the
bottom of the list, and the Free Christian Communities,
that came in with no State power behind them and
simply flung themselves upon the affections and vol-
untary suffrages of the people, outnumber the Epis-
copalians and Congregationalists, sometimes two, three,
or four to one. In the face of a fact like that, which is
to me extremely striking, I wonder if hon. Members
opposite really believe that the mere fact of Establish-
ment helps a Church so far as the people of the country
are concerned. I should like to make one quotation on
this question from an interview in November 1892 by
the special commissioner of the Western Mail with the
Right Reverend Lord Plunket, Archbishop of Dublin.
I do not give the whole of the advantages which he said
the Irish Church reaped from Disestablishment. I con-
fine myself to this : —

' . . . the more favourable attitude as regards our
influence upon the surrounding population which we
occupy because of our severance from any State
connection . . . the gain outweighs the loss.'

230 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

" As a matter of fact, he had discovered that from the
action of Disestablishment the Church in Ireland has
gained in influence over the surrounding population
exactly as the Churches are gaining which have been
through the same process in other lands. But let me
complete this part of what I want to say by referring
to the latest instance of Disestablishment. I do not
know whether I am speaking to hon. Members who have
seen anything at all of the very poor small Protestant
communities in France. I have myself visited some of
these Protestant communities. We know their history.
They were pitifully small up to the time of the severance
of Church and State. These bodies, equally with the
Roman Catholic bodies, received State grants, and it was
a very great question whether, in the face of the sudden
withdrawal of those sums, these little Protestant com-
munities would be able to survive. Last week London
was visited by perhaps the most distinguished member
of the Protestant community in France, Dr. D'Aubigny,
who gave these facts about that case. He said that they
had got through the crisis not only without harm, but
with distinct gain to the Churches. Their churches
were in a better position than they had been for the last
fifty years. The loss by Disestablishment to the Protes-
tant Churches had been £80,000 a year. They thought
at first it would be necessary to abandon a number of
their churches, but from the very first year the £80,000
was made up. They were now getting £40,000 more
than they received from the Government. The curious
thing was that immediately they were disestablished
the salaries of the ministers rose. Do not hon. Members
opposite look upon this question with a not sufficiently
brave heart ? They cannot believe so little in their
Church as to think that the Anglican Church in Wales
will not respond to its opportunity as nobly as those
Huguenot Churches in France or the Churches across
the water to which I have referred.

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 231

' We have been asked more than once what it is that
the people of Wales can possibly get out of this Bill.
I quite agree that if it were simply a matter of pounds,
shillings, and pence, the whole thing would be paltry
and pitiable. In dealing with this point, I am quite
conscious that I am treading on somewhat delicate
ground, and that it is a position which is not easily
susceptible of treatment in an Assembly like this. But
I am somewhat encouraged by the noble way, if he will
permit me to say so, in which the Noble Lord [Lord Hugh
Cecil] presented his case to an admiring House this
afternoon. I want to put our side just as frankly as
he put his. Everybody knows that there are two
supreme interpretations of Christianity, and that up
to now it has not been possible for any man skilled in
Church statesmanship, however wise he may be, to
engineer successfully a bridge that shall cross the gap.
One is the sacerdotal and the other is the unsacerdotal
interpretation of Christianity. One is the priestly and
the other is the unpriestly interpretation. Both of these
have had very distinguished adherents and exponents.
Both in their time have had the devotion of large
sections of the British people, and to-day they represent
still, as centuries ago, two practically separate camps in
the Christendom of our time. This would matter little,
I confess, if it were a religious organization within a
people who cared very little about religion. People
who thought that all religions were equally true or
equally false would probably take very little stock of
whether the Church were organized on sacerdotal or
non- sacerdotal lines. But the Welsh people are not
like that. They are perhaps in all the world the people
the keenest and most eager upon questions of religion.
Wherever you go in Wales you find the people ardent
and anxious to come together to listen to you on religious
questions. Their young men read religious books ;
they are always thinking out religious problems. Wales

232 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

has taken her side, and the side she has deliberately
taken is the unsacerdotal interpretation of Christianity.
There is one thing that a nation like that feels more than
anything else, and that is the misrepresentation of its
religion. If you make the representative Church of a
people like that a Church that is founded upon the
sacerdotal interpretation of Christianity, you offer them
a Church which they feel utterly misrepresents their
faith."

In committee on the Disestablishment Bill Mr. (now
Lord) Cave asked his opponents, " Why are you here try-
ing to destroy the Church of England by impoverishing
it and destroying its connection with the State ? " To
this Home replied by pointing to the members of the
Church of England who believed that disestablishment
would not weaken, but be for the good of the Church.
As to Nonconformists, their action was determined by
the serious conviction that a Church ought not to be
controlled by the State.

" Every true Nonconformist is a High Churchman, in
the sense that he resents the connection of the State in
regard to the creeds he holds, and the forms of worship
he follows. He is taught in his schools and in his Churches
that a Church ought to be free. He is taught that the
highest prerogative of the Church is that it should be
free — free to frame its own dogmas and its own forms
of worship, and to determine its own forms of govern-
ment. If he believes that that is the highest conception
of the Church, surely the hon. and learned Member might
assume in this House that there are those who advocate
this policy from motives that are at least as fair and as
sincere as those of any High Churchman. We have been
asked from the other side whether we resent certain
privileges that are held by State Churchmen at the
present time. Let me discuss, for instance — perhaps

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 233

I have the greatest right in this House to discuss it —
the question of the ministry. What would the hon.
and learned Member think if there were an artificial
line drawn clean across the profession which he repre-
sents, drawn by the State, dividing the orthodox from
the heterodox, separating the sheep from the goats ? I
wonder what he would think ? Let me suppose, for a
moment, that there was a party in the legal profession
which stood by the unchangeable character of the law
as it stands, and that the State established and endowed
that particular profession and set the mark of its sanction
and patronage upon them, while those who advocated
some reform and change in connection with the law were
regarded by the State as standing in a totally different
position. The hon. and learned gentleman knows
perfectly well that it would introduce a cleavage which
would run through his own profession, which would
be mischievous and injurious to his profession, and which
would inevitably create a feeling of friction and division.
" Just in the same way there is at present a ministry
in the Church which is sanctioned by the State under
the Act of Uniformity, which is treated as being worthy
of the sanction and the patronage of the State ; and, on
the other hand, there is a great body of ministers of the
Free Churches in Wales, men well educated, men who
have increasingly been taking the highest positions in
their Welsh universities, men many of whom have made
great contributions to theological literature, men who
absolutely have the esteem and regard of all Churchmen
whose esteem and regard are worth having ; and yet
these men, by these artificial arrangements, are regarded
as outside the fold which could receive any sort of
recognition by the State — these men whom the Welsh
people trust and love. Disestablishment means to us
religious equality in this sense, that henceforth they
will all stand on an absolute equality in the eye of
the State, as they ought to do."

234 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Home's vision of a free united Church of the nation
to be realized in the future led him to propose as an
amendment to the Government's scheme that, whereas
the parish churches in Wales were to be handed over to
the disestablished Episcopal Church, the cathedrals
should be retained for national religious purposes.

" The proposal is," he said, " that the Cathedral
Churches should be vested in the State, and that their
maintenance, repair, and restoration should be a charge
upon the funds that will be available on Disendowment,
that they shall be subject to all the present existing
rights, and that it shall be possible for the repre-
sentative body on application to secure that they shall
be used for the purposes for which they are at present
employed. That, of course, does not prevent the Com-
missioners using them, or permitting them to be used,
for other purposes.

" Cathedrals ought to be treated as national monu-
ments. Very often really necessary work in regard to
these fabrics has to be postponed because there are not
sufficient funds at the disposal of the Church for this
purpose.

" We think strongly on this subject, and I ask hon.
Members opposite to believe that, however much we
are divided from them over other matters in this Bill,
we are all with them in our admiration of the great
national cathedrals, and we are all desirous of maintain-
ing them in the highest degree of efficiency. If it is
necessary that the State should take over and maintain
such places as the beautiful Abbey of Tintern, it is even
more indispensable that the State should see that the
fabric of St. David's Cathedral does not fall into ruin.
Therefore, we submit, especially having regard to the
fact that as many of us believe tithe always had a
reference to the repair of the fabric, it would be very
proper to make the maintenance, repair, and restoration

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 235

of the cathedrals, so far as the external fabric is con-
cerned, a charge upon the commuted tithe rent- charge.
I take it the House will agree that, if the State did accept
this obligation and responsibility, there must be a certain
condition attached. I know it is difficult to argue this
question without wounding susceptibilities and pre-
judices which are very strong with hon. Members on the
other side of the House, and which all of us on this side
would willingly, if we could, respect ; but it is not pos-
sible ; and may it not enter into the vision of the Church,
as it will be in Wales to-morrow, to make these cathedrals
once again central to the religious life of the whole of
the people of Wales ? Surely no one will consider we
are saying anything which can be construed as offensive
if we can show this has proved to be a possibility in the
history of other countries. Anyone who has travelled
in South Germany has seen buildings just as noble as
the Welsh cathedrals used alternatively for Lutheran
and Roman Catholic services, and, so far as I know, no
one was any the worse. They may not have led to any
religious or ecclesiastical agreement, but the mere fact
that people came together for worship under the same
roof did make for a measure of appreciation and agree-
ment among the different religious communities which
met in those buildings.

" I do not really think anyone opposite can say that in
the form in which it is presented it is an attempt to do
something which is making a serious inroad upon Church
property. I remember on one occasion my right hon.
friend the Chief Secretary for Ireland [Mr. Birrell] was
trying to explain to the right hon, gentleman the Member
for the City of London [Mr. Balfour] exactly what a
Nonconformist was. He said that the general impression
of a Nonconformist among hon. Members opposite was
that he was a person constantly trying to thrust some-
body else's corpse into a churchyard that did not belong
to him. This has been the sort of impression that has

236 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

grown up among Nonconformists themselves. Nothing
has belonged to us. I am not saying who is responsible,
but by a series of conditions and circumstances, well
known to every Member of this Committee, we have
been outside a great many national institutions. We
have not only been outside, but some of those institutions
that stand for most, not only in the history of our
country, but in the history of the world, have been
institutions in which we have had no part. I think it
has had a very mischievous effect upon Nonconformity.
I think that lack of the historic sense with which we are
frequently accused by members of the Church of England
is an accusation that has a certain amount of point, but,
if so, I put it whether their refusal to share with us even
to a moderate extent like this what should be ecclesias-
tical property open to the uses, I think, of all religious
people in a great community like that of Wales, has
not been responsible for some of that which they deplore
on our part. If it were possible for us to enter into a
certain new measure of agreement and take a new step
which would make for ultimate unity, I do not believe
they would deplore it, and I believe the general body of
Nonconformists in Wales would be grateful."

Mr. Asquith expressed his sympathy with this pro-
posal, which he had himself formerly advocated. He
had, however, been convinced that it was advisable to
leave the cathedrals to the Episcopal Church because
three or four of them are used as parish churches, and
because two of them, or perhaps three, had within the
lifetime of living people been restored or even entirely
reconstructed by private benefactions for the use of the
Anglican Church. In view of this attitude of the Govern-
ment Home's motion was defeated. Evidently in the
mind of some of the speakers was the direful apprehension
that, if he had his way, the cathedrals would be changed
into bustling " Whitefields " !

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 237

His last speech, made on the eve of his departure for
America, was on the Second Reading, for the third time,
of the Irish Home Rule Bill. It was in the main
intended to meet appeals from Ulster Protestants
to British Free Churchmen to oppose Home Rule on
grounds of prejudice against the Roman Catholics.
Such appeals Home rejected with scorn. To him
toleration was of the genius of Protestantism; de-
mocracy and free conference and co-operation between
men of different creeds were the hope for the future
of religion.

At the same time, he hailed the suggestion that in the
federal principle lay the possibility of uniting parties
to give self-government to Ireland.

The following are extracts from the speech : —

" It seems to be the fate of this Bill while it is passing
through the House of Commons to raise every problem
that can be raised in regard to the government of a free
people. We have had the question raised of the rights
of minorities. We have had the question raised of the
best method of ascertaining the judgment of the con-
stituencies. We have had the question raised — the
very critical question in any country — of the limits of
civil obedience. We have had the question raised of
the limits of military obedience. And now it does
seem, in its final stages through the passage of the
House of Commons, that we are called upon to con-
sider— and I think rightly called upon to consider — the
reality and the effect of a federal system of government
in this country, and whether it may not be possible to
secure greater efficiency in regard to the administration
of Imperial affairs, while at the same time giving the
fullest possible rein to those local feelings which are so
strong in various parts of our country, and which this
measure in one particular is intended specially to
conciliate.

238 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

" It does seem to me, sometimes, as if there is a danger
that in the discussion of this great and important point
we may be distracted from the merits or demerits of the
special Bill, the Second Reading of which we are now
discussing, and that we may not face, as I think we
ought to face, the real feelings that are animating the
men who, greatly to the distress of us all, have armed
themselves in Ulster, have drilled in Ulster, and have
taken up an attitude certainly of potential rebellion
in Ulster. Nothing astonishes me more than the con-
trast between the arguments that are advanced against
Home Rule in this House and by hon. gentlemen opposite
and the arguments that are advanced against Home
Rule in Ulster and that are incorporated in the mani-
festos that are sent across the Channel from the Ulster
people, and some of which, at any rate, I hold in my hand
to-day. I venture to say that there is not a single right
hon. or hon. Member on the benches opposite, although
he is championing the cause of these people, who in this
House takes upon his lips the sort of thing that is being
used by the Ulster people, and adopts the arguments
they have adopted against Home Rule.

" I am going to quote from two of the manifestos that
have reached me and that are made the special appeal,
if I may say so, to the Free Churchmen of this country,
and then ask hon. Members whether they imagine that
the mere fact of a bare majority on a Referendum would
make the slightest difference in the world to people who
believe what these people believe. Let me take, first of
all, a manifesto that is being issued by the Synod of the
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. I under-
stand— I want to be perfectly frank in this matter —
that this is not a very large body, but these men are
part of the Covenanting Army. These are the men who
have been drilled, and who have enrolled themselves
under the leadership of the right hon. gentleman the
Member for Dublin University [Sir E. Carson].

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 239

" In their manifesto, as sent to me, these words
occur : —

' It will be for ever impossible to fight Home Rule
successfully so long as it is contended or admitted that
the Romanists and other open enemies of the true
religion ought to have any political power. We regard
the so-called Catholic Emancipation Act as the first
great step towards Home Rule. From the time of the
passing of the Act which gave the Romanists the fran-
chise dates the beginning of their power to threaten the
liberties of the Protestants.'

" I repeat that these men, and those whom they
represent, are members of the Covenanting Army.
These are the watchwords that are going through the
North of Ireland. These are the men whose cause hon.
Members opposite are championing. All I can say is,
if any of them ever said upon the platform that all the
Covenanters of the North of Ireland are standing for
is perfect equality, and that they are not asking for
ascendancy, then they have to face the manifestos
of people who ask that their Catholic neighbours should
be disfranchised in order that they may have absolute
political power themselves. I quite admit that I do
not lay any great stress upon that particular manifesto,
but I hold in my hand a manifesto which is much more
serious.

" It is a manifesto sent by the Rev. Dr. Macaulay,
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church. I am bound myself to take note of a document
of this kind. This is an appeal to the Free Churchmen
of England to support them, and I hope that the House
will understand that I have read it with every desire
to see things, as far as I can, from their point of view.
Let me ask the House what is the position that is adopted
by these gentlemen, and let me ask hon. gentlemen

240 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

opposite once again whether they can suppose that any
Referendum that can be taken in this country would
make the slightest difference to people who believe the
kind of things that are put into this document. I will
only quote four short sentences from this appeal : —

4 You may be assured that nothing will be left undone
by the Vatican to form Ireland into a submissive and
efficient instrument of its will.'

" This is the first point they take up — that this is
a sort of ecclesiastical conspiracy against the well-being
of Ireland ; that the Vatican is behind it all ; and that
the Vatican's one determination is to form Ireland into
a submissive instrument of its will. If I believed that,
I would go out with the Covenanters.

" The fact of the matter is that this agitation in the
North of Ireland has nothing whatever in common with
the arguments that are used. When the right hon.
gentleman the Member for Edinburgh University [Sir
R. Finlay] to-day came, in the last part of his speech,
to certain practical difficulties, and pointed out, as he
believed, defects of machinery and so forth, there was
weight, no doubt, in his criticism, as there has been
much weight in the criticism passed from those benches ;
but for the criticism passed from those benches not a
hundred men in Ireland would drill or arm themselves.
They are not out there as Covenanters because they
believe there is a difficulty in adjusting local and Imperial
finance ; they are out there because they believe a pure
hallucination, which is that there is a sinister Roman
Catholic conspiracy to bring them into a submissive in-
strument to the will of the Vatican. Take the second :—

' You are under no illusion as to the persistence and
resourcefulness of the ecclesiastical crisis, as you know
that, under an Irish Government, the worst form of
sacerdotal lordship will have an open field.'

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 241
Take the third :—

' We entreat you not to take part in thrusting us and
our children under this insidious and intolerable rule.'

And finally : —

' Would it not be an amazing spectacle to see the
Free Churches of Great Britain in alliance with Irish
Roman Catholics to put their Protestant brethren under
the heels of a Papal absolutism ? '

That is the document which represents the real opinion
of the Covenanters, and it is a document I defy any hon.
or right hon. gentleman opposite to rise and say is the
reason why he himself is supporting the Covenanters
or opposing Home Rule. In point of fact, we have come
to this position : that nothing that this House can do,
no concession that this House can make, can possibly
alter the judgment of men who believe that they are
going to be put under the heel of a Papal absolutism.

" I have fought as hard as most people against what
is called sacerdotal lordship, but throughout it has never
occurred to me to go to the Chief Whip of the Unionist
Party and ask him to organize the whole forces of
Unionism in this country to prevent me from being put
under the heel of Papal absolutism. The whole point
of the Irish situation is simple. You have a large body
of people who, on the score of their industry, of their
integrity, and their commercial genius, are deserving
of all respect, but on the other side of their nature, on
the side of their theological and ecclesiastical opinion,
they are the victims of a pure hallucination. That is
just the difficulty with which we are confronted at the
present time. It may be possible we shall have it urged
upon us that, after all, our sympathies ought to be
enlisted with men whose creeds in some respects we
16

242 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

share, and with whose general witness and testimony
we are associated. But I absolutely deny on the floor
of this House that that is Protestantism.

" After all, Protestantism as we understand it, the
Protestantism of which I am a most sincere and earnest
supporter, has, as part of its genius, the genius of toler-
ation, and when we are told that in supporting the Home
Rule Bill we are doing an injury to the Protestant faith,
I ask the Government to believe that the Home Rule
Bill is, in our judgment, by strengthening the power of
the people, the most important weapon that can be used
in support of that faith in Ireland. And we believe, as
was pointed out by a previous speaker, that to bring
all types of people together, to bring all forms of creeds
into one assembly, not to discuss the merits of Tran-
substantiation, but to discuss the well-being of the Irish
people and the promotion of the welfare of Ireland, is
the best way to deliver Ireland from this nightmare on
the part of the Protestant community.

" We have had put before us the federal principle
as a possible development of the problem. The right
hon. gentleman the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as
has been pointed out, hinted that this is the line on which
we might possibly seek a peaceful solution. I should like
to say a few words about those bitter years around 1886,
when a multitude of Free Churchmen and their friends
deserted the Liberal ranks. We know quite well how
the wedge of division was driven into the Nonconformist
ranks in that year. The two leaders of Nonconformity —
the two greatest leaders at that time — were both
associated with the life of Birmingham. One was the
right hon. gentleman the Member for West Birmingham,
who, we all wish, was able to be present here to-day, and
the other was Dr. Dale. The Life of Dr. Dale has since
been written. In it there is a remarkable letter in regard
to the position of Mr. Chamberlain, and I mention it here
to-day because it shows that he was wishful, even at that

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 243

time, to see such a settlement as pointed to an eventual
federal settlement.

" Dr. Dale wrote these words, and they have never
been denied. The book has been published for many
years : —

' Mr. Chamberlain's own settled convictions have been
long familiar to me. We discussed them at a time when
they were considered perilously rash by members of the
present Cabinet. I always told him that his proposals
were inadequate, and that a body in Dublin with powers
which would justify the name of a Parliament was a
necessary element in any final solution of the difficulty.
When Mr. Gladstone's Bill was brought forward, he recog-
nized the gravity of the new conditions of the case, and
was willing to accept a Dublin Legislature on condition
that the Irish Members were retained at Westminster,
and that the Bill received the modifications which were
necessarily involved in their retention.'

" Immediately afterwards Dr. Dale wrote to the
Contemporary Review a remarkable article on Home Rule,
which drew from Archbishop Walsh the testimony ' that
it contained in it practically all the elements of a thor-
oughly satisfactory, because complete and final, settle-
ment of the whole question.' The Nonconformists at
that time — the dissentient Nonconformists at that time
who have so largely come back to the Liberal Party over
the question of Education — were represented by Dr. Dale
and Mr. Chamberlain, and they took the action they did
because they thought Mr. Gladstone's original scheme
lacked a certain vital element which was going to point
to the federal solution of ' Home Rule all round.' If I
could speak to the right hon. gentleman the Member for
East Worcestershire [Mr. Austen Chamberlain], I would
ask him to make himself the trustee of that noble
tradition of Liberal-Unionism."

One at least of the veterans of Liberal-Unionism — Mr.

244 WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

Jesse Ceilings — wanned to this appeal, and spoke sub-
sequently of the speech with high appreciation.

The question may arise in the mind of the reader
whether it was worth while for Home to enter Parlia-
ment, to give up so much of his time and spend so much
bodily and mental energy to winning and holding a seat
and to the duties of an ordinary Member. It is not easy
to give a definite reply. It was no doubt a satisfaction
to his fellow Free Churchmen to have in the House of
Commons one who was so competent to give clear and
distinguished expression to their views and ideals.
They felt like the Welsh miners' representative who
thanked the Hon. Member (for Ipswich) for his splendid
vindication of the conscientious motives of the Welsh
members in prosecution of this measure (disestablish-
ment). As for the party opposite, while all who followed
him in debate recognized the high tone of his speeches,
his fairness, his desire so to put his case as to avoid
hurting the feelings of any earnest opponent, it was
those whose standpoint was farthest apart from his who
listened to Home with the most careful attention, and
were apparently won to a better comprehension and
even sympathy with the Nonconformist position. Men
like Lord Robert and Lord Hugh Cecil, Sir A. Cripps
(now Lord Parmoor), Mr. (now Lord) Cave, and Mr.
Alfred Lyttelton recognized in Home an earnest and
reverent spirit like their own, and could appeal to him
to appreciate their zeal for religious education and to
join them in pursuing a reform of the Church which they
imagined could be secured without disestablishment.
He seemed to them a new and interesting type of M.P.
This gave him considerable advantage in the conferences
and negotiations on the education difficulty which took
place during the whole life of the Liberal Government.
During the later months he gave much time and
thought to the work of a committee on which he served,
with Cabinet Ministers and others, striving to arrive

WORK IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 245

at an arrangement which should put an end to the long
controversy about denominational teaching in public
elementary schools. The scheme never saw the light.
The outbreak of war was fatal to it.

Of course, in the House of Commons, as everywhere
else, Home made many friends, and the programme of
speakers at the Whitefields men's meeting was more
than ever effulgent with the names of Members of
Parliament. After Home's death Lord Reading wrote
to the Master of the Rolls as follows :—

" Of all the men I have met I always singled him out
as having the loftiest conceptions of public life and as
actuated by the noblest purposes. I was always the
better for a talk with him. He always lifted one to his
higher planes of thought. In the present day it was
an inspiration to hear his political conceptions and
purposes of life."

As an example of Home's political activity long before
he entered Parliament, the following story is of interest.
It was at the time when the question of establishing a
Roman Catholic university in Ireland was before the
country. Nonconformists generally were very uneasy
about the project, and at the request of his friend Mr.
Birrell, then Chief Secretary, Home went to Ireland to
investigate the subject for himself.1 He wrote of his
tour as follows : —

" DUBLIN,

" January 8, 1908.

". . . I had a busy and interesting day yesterday.
Old Principal Hamilton is really a great man. I take it
that he is a Tory in politics, but if so, it is all the greater
achievement for Birrell to have captured him, which he
has most thoroughly done. The old man was most kind,

1 See above, p. 198.

246 WORKS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

and simply would not let me go, pouring out information
for hours. I am profoundly glad I came here, for no
amount of reading in Blue books would have taught me
what I learned in my four or five hours with Hamilton.
It is really an interesting situation, and there is a bare
possibility evidently that Birrell will succeed where all
his predecessors have failed. If so, he will leave his
mark on the destiny of Ireland. ..."

" CORK,

" January 9, 1908.

"... For six mortal hours did I travel this day
through the heart of this most melancholy land. The
rain had literally never ceased since I landed early on
Monday ; but it cleared awhile as we were nearing Cork,
and it is now moonlight. When I say that it was well
worth while the toilsome journey to hear what President
Windle had to say about Catholics and Ireland from the
inside, you will judge that I had a good time with him.
I cannot write the details, but decidedly I have gained
an enormous amount of what should be information —
for I am sure it comes through an honest man. Birrell
has again scored here, and Windle, contrary to some
big prejudices, is quite a believer in A. B., and prepared
to be his henchman."

" DUBLIN,

" January 10, 1908.

"... I got back from Cork this morning, and have
come to this hotel because it is so much more central and
convenient. Most of this afternoon I have been dis-
cussing education with two very clever men from Belfast ;
both Unionists. To-night Sir James Dougherty is
entertaining a large party to meet me — judges and
divines and all sorts. Birrell will possibly be there.
To-morrow I finish up by interviewing the head of the

WORKS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 247

Jesuit College and the Provost of Trinity. I shall have
much to tell you when I get back. ..."

On his return home he contributed to the press
several articles on the subject, the sane and judicious
tone of which did much to reassure Nonconformist fears
and to disarm opposition.

CHAPTER VIII

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

(Contributed by DR. J. D. JONES)

FOR several years Silvester Home and I were in the habit
of devoting the inside of a week to the visitation of the
small churches of some chosen county or district. It
would be difficult to say how the habit came to be formed.
Perhaps the idea first took shape after I had heard of a
cycling tour which Mr. and Mrs. Home had taken
through Shropshire, in the course of which he preached
and spoke at several of our small country churches in
the villages through which they passed. I remember
thinking the idea was an excellent one, and the next
time I met Home I suggested we should combine forces
and conduct a similar visitation the following year
amongst the Hampshire churches. But while Home's
cycling tour in Shropshire may have given the idea body
and shape, back of these annual visitations of ours there
lay a great sympathy and a great conviction. There
was, to begin with, a great sympathy with the country
minister and the country church. Home felt a chival-
rous admiration for these men and these churches who
were doing their work often amidst great difficulties
and discouragements. He was eager to help and en-
courage them in every way he could. These visitations
gave him the sort of opportunity he desired. For though
we might begin, or in some cases finish, our series of
meetings at what might be called a town church, it was
always understood that the tiny country and village

248

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 249

churches were our special concern. We desired to
" strengthen their hands in love." Some of the tender-
est and most beautiful addresses I ever heard Home
deliver were given in these small country churches.
I shall never forget the address which he gave at Ripley,
at the first meeting of our Hampshire visitation, on
" Living a Great Life in a Small Place " ; or the
exquisitely gracious and encouraging address he gave at
Berrynarbor, at the closing meeting of our North Devon
visitation, on God justifying us by our faith and taking
the will for the deed. The address was a veritable bene-
diction, full of balm for tired minds and weary hearts.
I was often made to feel that those who only saw Home
addressing crowded audiences, flaming with passion him-
self and kindling others with flame as well, saw only one
side of him. It was a great side, no doubt. He was a
great master of assemblies, a first-class fighting man.
But I, who was privileged to be his associate in this
quieter work, saw the other side of him — his sympathy,
his beautiful courtesy, his exquisite tenderness. We had
no such trumpeter of the Lord's host as he, no one who
could nerve us, as he could, with courage for the battle ;
but the man of war had also a touch as gentle as a
woman's. And much though I admired him swaying the
crowd at the Albert Hall or the City Temple, I cherish
with equal fondness my recollection of him speaking
words of healing love to congregations of village people
in the churches we visited together. Nor was it by
speech alone that Home showed his sympathy. It was
impossible for us to preach or speak at every village
church in the district we were visiting. But we never
passed through a village where there was a Congrega-
tional church without calling at the manse and giving
our greetings to the minister. And what these brief
calls meant to lonely men who can tell ? I remember
still the surprised thankfulness with which we were
received at many a village manse, and I can picture to

250 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

myself now one country minister who followed us about,
and who told everybody whom he met that two
ex-chairmen of the Union had come in a motor-car and
visited him at his manse.

But behind these annual visitations there was more
than a deep and genuine sympathy — there was also a
great conviction. Home believed in the country church.
He believed in its witness and its mission. He believed
that it had done a great work for England, and that it
was doing a great work still. A friend of ours had
declined an invitation to minister to a country church on
the ground that he did not feel he was justified in leaving
his own church, where he preached to hundreds, to go
and visit a small country church where he would only
preach to scores. " But," said the minister of the country
church in question, " don't you think you are neglecting
the sources ? " Home and I felt that the country
churches were the " sources," and we were resolved that
we would not neglect them. These " visitations " of our
seemed to us to give us exactly the opportunity we
wanted of doing our share in the way of cultivating " the
sources." For, with all the will in the world, men who
hold heavy and exacting town pastorates cannot spare
very much time for work in the country. A visit to a
church in Shropshire or in Devon, either from London
or Bournemouth, occupied the whole of two days. But
by arranging for a series of meetings on successive days,
and by employing our afternoons as well as our evenings,
we were able to do in the inside of a week what would
have been the work of a couple of months if we had had
to journey specially to each individual church. And
that these " visitations " of ours did really stimulate
and encourage our village churches certain letters and
resolutions which lie before me as I write amply prove.

It was mainly and primarily to help our country
churches that we undertook these annual " tours " ; but
I should not be telling the whole story if I did not add

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 251

that the chance of having five days in one another's
company was also part of the attraction. I do not know
how or when Home and I became first acquainted, but
the acquaintance soon ripened and deepened into a fast
and close friendship. " The soul of Jonathan was knit
with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his
own soul." But Home was all his ministerial life a Lon-
doner, and I have been all my ministerial life a country
man, so that our opportunities of meeting were not
frequent. We welcomed, therefore, the chance which
these visitations afforded of having a few days of happy
fellowship together. For it was a rule with us that
though afternoons and evenings were devoted to meet-
ings, the mornings were kept free for play. That was
why we generally made our headquarters in the vicinity
of golf-links. When we were making our arrangements
a post-card would usually reach me from Whitefields with
the peremptory message, " Bring your sticks," and
amongst my sunniest recollections of Home are those of
the golf-links, when he was gay, care-free, and happy,
especially when he and I, representing the church, gained
the victory over Frank Tribe, of Bristol, and Alfred
Sargeant, of Hove, representing "the world." The
mention of Frank Tribe and Alfred Sargeant reminds
me of another characteristic of these tours of ours.
After the first two tours — both of which we did by the
help of the train — we pressed the motor-car into the
service. And as we had no motor-car of our own, we
used to commandeer the services of some well-to-do
layman, who would put himself and his motor-car at our
disposal. We never lacked friends to help us in this
respect. Sir Arthur Nicholson, Mr. Alderman Bantock,
Mr. Edward Cozens-Hardy, the late Mr. Martin Lullen
Moss, the late Mr. J. J. Allen, and Mr. J. E. Beale, of
Bournemouth, at one time or another piloted us to our
various engagements. But the two friends who did
most for us were Frank Tribe and Alfred Sargeant.

252 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

Frank Tribe acted as our chauffeur, both for North
Devon and for Gloucestershire. Meetings, hotels, golf —
everything was arranged by him. Alfred Sargeant
placed his car at our service, both for Gloucestershire
and Sussex. And these two companions of ours were
not content with piloting us about and playing us at
golf: they took their turn, also, at presiding at the various
meetings we addressed, and so added to the usefulness
and happiness of the tours. When the idea of these
visitations was first suggested, it was a cycling tour
that was in our minds. That was what our tour in
Hampshire was to have been. But the weather put
cycling clean out of the question, so we fell back upon
the train. Our second tour was amongst the churches
in the border counties and in Wales. It was never our
intention to do this in any other way than by train,
the distance being so great. But from that time on
it was always the motor-car. In these early days the
motor was not so reliable a thing as it is now, and we
had sundry adventures in our peregrinations. Once we
had what might have been a rather serious accident.
We had been on an excursion to the Birmingham water-
works, when between Rhayader and Llandrindod some-
thing went wrong with the steering gear. The result was
we bumped into a stone wall, but happily at such an
angle that the car was sent to the other side of the road,
where there was a green hedge and a ditch. There it
overturned, flinging all four occupants out. With the
exception of the driver — who had his collar-bone broken
— no one was seriously hurt. But I always maintain
that I saved Home's life on that occasion, for I fell first
into the ditch and he came tumbling on top of me. There
might have been a different tale to tell had the positions
been reversed. Our other adventures were mostly of
the humorous kind. I remember very well a series of
mishaps we had one day during our Norfolk tour. The
final disaster came when we were motoring to Fakenham

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 253

for the evening meeting. Just outside Melton Constable
our tyre went off with a bang, and as we had used up all
our spare tyres and tubes, there was nothing for it but
to walk back to Melton Constable and wait for a train.
We wired to Mr. W. H. Brown, who was presiding at the
meeting, in the words of the old hymn, " Hold the fort,
for we are coming." We got there an hour late. Mr.
Brown was still bravely " holding the fort." But I am
sure no beleaguered garrison was ever more pleased to
see the approach of the relieving force than he was to
see our faces as we came in at the front door. But
with the exception of an incident or two of that sort in
the early tours, the motor-car carried us to every
engagement without lapse or failure.

It was with Hampshire we began. I had arranged
for meetings at Ripley, Throop, Ringwood, and Romsey.
Let the meetings at Throop suffice by way of illustration
of the work we did. Happily the day was a fine, warm
day in a week of pouring rain. The Throop " picnic,"
as it is known, is always a great day in the annals of
local Congregationalism. Throop is sufficiently near to
both Bournemouth and Christchurch to be a convenient
rallying-place for the Congregationalists of the neigh-
bourhood. They pour out on foot, on cycles, in car-
riages and chars-a-bancs and motor-cars. But never did
such a crowd gather as on this particular occasion. The
little chapel was thronged to the roof. It was terri-
fically hot — but who cared for heat ! Home, in his after-
noon sermon on " Give alms of that which is within,"
was on the top of his form, while his speech on Congrega-
tionalism at the evening meeting simply kindled his
audience with flame. Then, as if two meetings were not
enough, on the way home we stopped for a crowded
meeting at Winton, where a packed audience waited
for us, who were amply rewarded by the speech which
Home delivered. Not until after 10 o'clock did we
arrive back at my manse, a tired but happy couple.

254 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

Although the weather was unkind to us in Hampshire,
Home's comment after the last meeting was, " Well,
J. D., we have had a rattling good time." We felt that
the experiment had so justified itself that we resolved to
undertake a similar visitation the following year. Mr.
John Hugh Edwards (now M.P.) claimed us that year for
the border counties and for Wales. We began our tour
at Shrewsbury and finished it at Aberystwith. It was
perhaps less of a " country " tour than any one of the
series. But in its own way it was interesting. AtNewtown
Home and I had a taste of the Welsh cymanfa practice —
for we both preached at the same service. The Aberyst-
with meeting was a grand climax, and was memorable to
us for the kindly words of appreciation and gratitude
spoken by the late Dr. Denney (of Glasgow) at the close.

The following year we were back again in the real
country, for Norfolk was the scene of our labours. Nor-
folk had a special attraction for Home, for at the time
he had a seaside home at Sheringham, and he had made
fast friends with the fisher-folk of that place and with
the people of the country-side. And besides, Sheringham
had a famous golf-course ! The Norfolk tour was one
of the happiest and most fruitful of them all. Certain
incidents still stand out amongst my most vivid recol-
lections— the visit we paid to Shipdam, the birthplace
of Henry Barrowe, and the happy tea-hour we spent sub-
sequently with Judge Willis, when he dubbed us Paul
and Barnabas, and called Mr. Kenward (who was then
minister at Norwich, and who had accompanied us on
that particular excursion) our " Timothy." Of meet-
ings during this tour the one we held on Aldborough
Green was the most memorable. I had often heard of
this annual demonstration on Aldborough Green.
Home had been there before, and used to speak of it
as something almost unique in the way of country Free
Church demonstrations. After seeing for myself, I felt
no surprise at his enthusiasm. On this particular occa-

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 255

sion over 600 people had sat down to tea. For the
meeting which followed double that number packed
themselves into the tent. Mr. S. Cozens-Hardy was in
the chair ; Sir William Brampton Gurdon, the M.P. for
the division, was on the platform, while Home and I
were the speakers. What a meeting it was — responsive,
electric, full of fire ! He would be a dull man who could
not speak to such an audience. They had come from
all parts of Norfolk to attend it ; but one man, who had
ridden thirty miles on his cycle to come, and had to ride
another thirty miles after the meeting was over, said he
would have cheerfully done double the distance for the
privilege of sharing in the inspiration of that meeting.
The remembrance of that great meeting tempts one to
remark, in passing, on the influence our staunch and
convinced Free Churchmen can exert in the country
side. The credit of the Aldborough meeting was all due
to Mr. Cook, of Aldborough Mill. He was a man after
Home's own heart, and again and again has he spoken
to me about him in terms of unstinted praise. A man
of conviction as well as of influence, Mr. Cook had become
a tower of strength to Nonconformists throughout the
whole of Norfolk. One other feature of our Norfolk
tour deserves notice, and that was the attention given
to us by the press. The daily newspapers reported fully
all our meetings. So much public interest was aroused
that the Anglican clergy began to be curious, and wrote
letters enquiring what was the object of our " passionate
pilgrimage." I don't know that either of us cared
personally for publicity, but we were grateful for it in
so far as it helped forward the cause we had at heart.
To Norfolk succeeded North Devon, for which tour
Mr. Frank Tribe acted as our guide. The motor, this
time, was supplied by Mr. Butler, of Bristol, who was his
own chauffeur. We appreciated Mr. Butler's kindness
the more as he was not a Congregationalist, but a mem-
ber of the United Methodist Church. We began this

256 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

tour at Bridgwater and finished it at Berrynarbor, a
tiny village not far from Ilfracombe. In the course of
the tour we visited Wiveliscombe, B.arnstaple, Bideford,
Lynton, Muddeford, Braunton, and Morthoe. It was a
delightful tour, spent amid delightful surroundings and
favoured with delightful weather. And we had glorious
games on the links at Wollacombe and Burnham and
Westward Ho ! Looking back after this lapse of time,
I have vivid memories of two things : first, of a sermon
Home preached at Wiveliscombe on " We are come . . .
to the general assembly and church of the first-born " —
one of the most moving sermons I have ever heard from
him. And secondly, of an incident that happened at
our Lynton meeting. Sitting in the very front was an
old man, accompanied by his elderly daughter. It was
my turn to speak first. This old man drew and held
my attention. There he sat, dull, stolid, irresponsive.
I did all I knew to bring some gleam into his face, to
extract from him some sign of appreciation — but all in
vain. He acted on me as a very wet blanket. During
the singing of the next hymn, I ventured to wish Home
better luck with my stolid friend. " He's deaf," Home
said. But he wasn't deaf at all, as the issue proved.
Home had proceeded some way with his speech without
eliciting the slightest response, when he had occasion
to refer to a visit he paid to Dundee. " Now," he said,
" whenever I visit a town for the first time I consult an
encyclopaedia to find out any things for which it may be
famous. But all I could find Dundee was famous for
was marmalade." At that there was a tremendous
guffaw from the old gentleman in the front. All my
own best stories and attempts at jokes, and some of
Home's, had failed to touch him, but somehow or other
" marmalade " opened his heart. After that Home had
him in the hollow of his hand. It became a joke with us
ever after that when things were going badly with us
we must " try marmalade."

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 257

The following year our work lay amid scenes very
different from those of North Devon, for we divided our
time between the Black Country and the Potteries. Mr.
Bantock took charge of us during the days we spent in
the Black Country and Sir Arthur Nicholson did the like
for us when we migrated north to the Potteries. We
never worked so hard, for in the afternoons we were
separated, and had each to conduct a preaching service.
But it was a great week, and some of our meetings — like
that at West Bromwich — were nothing less than tri-
umphant. But I remember best a meeting we held at a
little country place called Outwoods. It was a favourite
place with Home, for he used to go out there to preach
in his student days, perhaps even before he was a student.
The good people there had erected a tent for the crowds
they had expected to gather. But it turned out a
pouring wet day, and, though an amazing number of
people came, the weather no doubt kept many away. I
had been preaching in the Potteries in the afternoon, but
I joined Home at the Outwoods for the evening. I shall
never forget that first meeting. Sir Arthur Nicholson was
in the chair, and in the audience was Home's mother.
We were both of us like schoolboys let loose. I began
to chaff Home about the number of his birthplaces.
I said that the seven cities of Homer were nothing com-
pared to the number of Home's birthplaces. To my
certain knowledge I knew he had been born in Sussex
and in Norfolk, but now I felt I had really tracked him
to the hole of the pit out of which he had been digged,
for there I could see his mother before me. It sounds
nothing in the repetition, but Home's mother, and Home
himself, the chairman, and I were all helpless with laugh-
ing. Never was such a meeting held at Outwoods : it
has become a legend by this, and whenever I visit Shrop-
shire I am almost sure to be asked, " Do you remember
Outwoods ? "

The following year (1908) witnessed a change in our
17

258 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

programme, for instead of visiting an English county,
we went as delegates to the Irish Congregational Union
at Sligo. We had the company on this tour of Mr. C. W.
Toms, of London. It was a happy week we spent
with our Irish friends. They turned us on at every con-
ceivable occasion, but as we were able to spend most
of our afternoons on the glorious links at Rosse's Point,
we managed to survive even the inordinate appetite
for speeches of our Irish friends. We came away
from this visit with a great admiration for the brave
little congregation at Sligo, and with a deepened respect
for the ministers who are maintaining our Congregational
witness amid very inhospitable surroundings. Home
left before I did. I saw him off at Belfast for Stranraer.
He had landed in Ireland with a bag and a rug and an
umbrella. He left us that day with a rug as his only
luggage. The other things had got lost en route —
though I believe that subsequently most of them
turned up.

We were back amongst our English counties in 1909,
and as it was my year of chairmanship, I was allowed to
choose the scene of our labours, and I voted for Dorset,
the county on the very border of which Bournemouth
stands. For our companion on this tour we had Mr.
(now Sir) Stephen Collins, then M.P. for one of our London
divisions. Sir Stephen is a great Dorset man, and was
in his element presiding over our meetings. And great
and enthusiastic meetings they were. We began pro-
ceedings on the Monday at Wareham and finished up
on the Friday at Weymouth, and amongst the churches
we visited were Swanage, Shaftesbury, Blandford, Wim-
borne, Sherborne, Poole, Bridport, and Dorchester.
The particular meeting of this tour that stands out in
my memory was the service we held 'at Poole in the after-
noon of Thursday, when Home preached on " What is
your life ? " The audience was all accommodated in
the body of the fine old church, and Home spoke from

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 259

the communion rails. Perhaps he did not so much
preach as speak to the people. I mean there was no
rhetoric, no declaration, no dramatic action. It was
all quiet and simple and still — but so searching. From
some points of view, I never knew Home greater than
on that day. It was the kind of message which one never
forgets. In 1910 we toured Gloucestershire, and in our
choice of Gloucestershire I think I can trace once again
an influence of Mr. Frank Tribe. He had planned a
most delectable tour for us, with headquarters at the
Amberley Ridge Hotel. Now anyone who knows the
Amberley Ridge knows that it is an ideal place, for not
only is the air crisp and bracing, but the famous Minchin-
hampton links are at the very door. Mr. Tribe himself
was our companion all the week. In addition to Mr.
Tribe, we had the pleasure of the company of Mr. Alfred
Sargeant, of Hove, who put his great Lanchester car at our
service. We really made up a perfect quartette, for not
only did Mr. Tribe and Mr. Sargeant take part in the
meetings, presiding over them in turns, but they were
both keen golfers. The games we had on those Minchin-
hampton links ! For the most part they were four-
somes, the two ministers against the two laymen. I
don't think the ministers always won — in fact I am quite
sure they didn't. But I have a picture before me as I
write, taken on those links, in which Home is caught
executing a sort of war-dance, and it is entitled " The
Church Triumphant." The Gloucestershire meetings
were excellent meetings, and the gratitude was lavish.
But again one memory stands out sharp and distinct
in this Gloucestershire tour. Amongst other places we
visited was Moreton-in-the-Marsh. Now Moreton is a
great place for Homes. I don't know whether the family
really originates from Moreton, but the Home clan is
well represented there. We knew, therefore, that we
were in for a great welcome from the cousins and the
aunts. We passed through Cirencester on our way, and

260 AN ITINERANT MINISTRY

while Home was in a shop buying something for himself,
others of us slipped into a little fancy shop and bought
all the tiny flags we could lay our hands on. Then, when
we came near Moreton, we stopped and decorated the
car. Then, as luck would have it, the village band was
parading the place just before service time, and hap-
pened to be at the entrance of the village just as we
arrived. It was an easy matter arranging with the
conductor to turn his men round, to play a certain well-
known piece of music, and to march through the village
to the tent while we in the motor followed majestically
behind. And so it came about that in a decorated
car, behind a band playing " See the conquering hero
comes," Home made his triumphal entry into Moreton-
in-the-Marsh. It was great fun — and yet perhaps
Moreton never welcomed a better or greater man.

Then came our last tour together, when we visited the
country churches of Sussex. This was Home's own
choice, for though he had genius (as I have already
hinted) at finding all sorts of connections between him-
self and the various counties we visited, he was really
Sussex born. Mr. Sargeant was once again our com-
panion and conductor. We made Crowborough our
headquarters, and began proceedings there. We finished
up at Chichester, and between Crowborough and
Chichester we visited Uckfield, Battle, Heathfield, East
Grinstead, Haywards Heath, Horsham, Arundel, and
Midhurst. It was a gorgeous week. The weather was
perfect, Sussex was at its loveliest, and the company
was delightful. I got to sympathize during those spring
days with Hilaire Belloc's passion for Sussex. But after
all, we were out, not for scenery, but for the help and
comfort of men and women bearing their Christian testi-
mony, often amid great discouragement. To use a phrase
which our Anglican friends have made familiar — we were
out on a " mission of help." And I do not think we
journeyed in vain. By sermons and addresses and talks

AN ITINERANT MINISTRY 261

across the tea-table we tried to breathe fresh courage
and hope into the hearts of the ministers and members
of our little churches. If gratitude and thanks, pathetic
almost in their intensity, are any proof of pleasure and
inspiration given them, our Sussex tour was as successful
and practically useful as any one of the series. But alas !
although we did not know it, it was our last. In 1913
Home was ill, and whatever strength he had was needed
for the unavoidable duties connected with his chairman-
ship of the Brotherhood Movement. In 1914, while he
was in America and I was on my way to Australia, he
was summoned home. There has been no visitation
since for me. But I look back upon those nine or ten
tours we took together as amongst the happiest episodes
of my life. And they count in the story of Home's
life. They were not " conspicuous " occasions. But I
question whether anything Home did was better worth
doing. For it was not a fleeting impression he made :
he left behind him an abiding inspiration. When
I visit these little churches which he and I visited
together, one and another will say to me, with glistening
eye, " Do you remember when Silvester Home and you
came together ? " Well, I am not likely to forget. Nor
are they. The memory of his words abides. At every
thought of him their hearts warm. In many a village
church he, being dead, yet speaks.

CHAPTER IX

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

THE story told in these pages would hardly be complete
without some more detailed reference to certain aspects
of Home's life and work which his almost breathless
activities served to obscure or keep in the background.
To outsiders he often seemed a favoured child of fortune.
He was successful, popular, happy in hishome and family,
and had hosts of friends. He had a bright and winning
temperament, and in public speech an ease and freedom
which concealed the labour spent upon it. All this
however, was quite compatible with a very real self-
sacrifice such as his work in the ministry involved. A
genuine lover of the country and of all country ways,
he was condemned to spend most of his life in London.
Though passionately devoted to his home, he was com-
pelled to see but little of it, and except in holiday times
had not the leisure to enjoy it. He had genuine literary
instincts and ambitions, and but little chance of grati-
fying them. Such work as he did in this direction had
to be done amid a thousand distractions, and good as
it often is, is no real measure of his powers. He was
constantly handicapped by ill-health, and during the
greater part of his public life often laboured under grave
physical disadvantages. But he toiled on boldly and
cheerfully, always hoping for a time when the tension
might be relaxed and leisure won to do the kind of work
he loved. At the time of his last journey to America he
had made up his mind that he would never return to
the ministry, and that he would retire from Parliament

262

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 263

when the first opportunity offered. His hope then was
to devote the remainder of his days to the cause of
international peace. He had half-formed plans in his
mind that anticipated what we have now come to know
as the League of Nations, and of that scheme he would
have been unquestionably a most earnest and devoted
advocate. But it was not to be.

Of his published sermons it may safely be said that
they give little indication of his real power as a preacher.
They are well written, simple, and forceful, and full of
insight and sympathy. But they lack the glow and fire
which the preacher put into them. Though he preached
generally from manuscript, Home was perfectly free in
the pulpit. The paper served to guide but not trammel
him, and he put so much of himself into his sermons that
the written word can do no justice to his power. On
the platform he let himself go more completely, and in
speeches and addresses rose to rare heights of passionate
eloquence. When asked why he did not speak in the
pulpit quite as freely as he did elsewhere, he used to
confess to feeling the restraint and solemnity of public
worship so deeply that he dare not let himself go. There
is no doubt that this sense of reserve and even awe in the
pulpit added greatly to his message.

Sir Robert Wallace, K.C., who was one of Home's
most regular hearers both at Kensington and Whitefields,
writes of his preaching : —

" I put almost first his extreme fearlessness. He
never hesitated to explore any new realms of suggested
truth. He was, in the old Elizabethan sense, a great
adventurer. The vast unknown spaces did not trouble
him. He delighted to go on his quest if perchance there
was anything really valuable to be found. He had firm
faith in guidance from on high. Next I would place his
great reverence. He was no iconoclast, as many thought.
The great verities ever held him fast. It was the old

264 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

gold reminted, the old Gospel expressed in the language
of to-day. It was by no tricks of rhetoric that he
captured the attention of his audiences, though he fully
realized how important form is as well as substance.
The sincerity of the man was so apparent that you felt
that here was someone who had a message. There are
indeed many who thank God for the privilege of having
heard him, and had their faith renewed under his won-
derful influence."

One of the best of his volumes of sermons is that on
the Book of Job, entitled " The Ordeal of Faith." It is
a genuinely pastoral utterance, positive and persuasive
in tone, and is still in demand.

Of the other books which Home published in addition
to the volumes of sermons, the best are the histories
of the Free Churches and of the London Missionary
Society ; the small Life of David Livingstone ; and
his Yale Lectures on The Romance of Preaching.
All of these were written in the intervals of an excep-
tionally busy life, but they are more than merely
ephemeral productions. Home put into them a great
deal of conscientious industry, which is almost concealed
by the easy and graphic style in which they are written.
The Yale Lectures, in particular, were most carefully
prepared, and are certainly worthy of a high place in the
great series in which they stand. They were written
from the heart on a subject which the writer had made
his own, and they remain a lasting vindication of the
glory and greatness of the preacher's office.

The novel A Modern Heretic, which was written early
in the Kensington ministry, bears all the marks of youth-
ful authorship. It is a novel with a purpose, and in its
delineation of the difficulties of Dissent in country places,
it recalls experiences with which the writer had been
only too painfully familiar. There are some good por-
traits in it, and some shrewd touches, which show a real

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 265

acquaintance with human nature. It is just the work
of a clever and keen youth who has a real message to
deliver, but is not yet master of the form in which he
has chosen to cast it. A far nobler and more convincing
vindication of Free Church principles and activities is
to be found in the two histories already mentioned.
Home wrote of the novel as follows : —

" January 1894. — It is difficult to say precisely what
impelled me to write a novel. For a year or two I have
had it in my mind that if a novel could be written show-
ing the true raison d'etre of Dissent and its justification,
the cause of Religious Equality would be served well.
Consequently, one day I began the thing for fun. As
I went on I got thoroughly interested, and chapter on
chapter followed ; the result was A Modern Heretic.
The design of the novel came to me from reading Evan
Harrington. I felt that Meredith had sought out the
most extreme case he could find in which snobbery could
show its contempt for an ' inferior ' grade in society,
and he chose tailordom as the most despised grade.
But after all a Nonconformist minister is the bete noire
of the cultivated squirearchies ; and I consequently
tried to represent the struggle of a young squire who
felt a call to be a Divine Teacher, and yet could not
honestly subscribe the Articles. Of course Dissent
was the only alternative. Clarke's have got the
novel now, and it will be published anonymously in
a week or two ; and then for the fun of the fair !
Whether any of my friends will recognize the handi-
work I don't know. Nobody but Katherine knows any-
thing at all about it."

" February 1894. — A Modern Heretic is out. The
first two reviews are in my hands. Horton reviews it
with singular kindness in the Christian World. He
speaks most about its humour, and certainly praises it
far beyond my utmost expectations. The Glasgow Herald

266 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

pronounces it a ' very remarkable and distinguished
book,' but is angry at my calling it frankly ' a novel
with a purpose.' The Herald says I have done for the
Oxford of 1850 what Mrs. Humphry Ward did for the
Oxford of a later date. All this is encouraging for the
ultimate success of the book : but I quite expect its
sale will be slow. Anonymous books rarely get at once
upon the market. All the people who have read it
seem to have found it interesting and amusing. I only
hope it may really do good, and then I don't much
care what becomes of it."

Reference has already been made to Home's incur-
sions into the realms of poetry. As a young man he
wrote verse with boyish exuberance, and later in life
used to pour out clever doggerel for the delight of his
children. But it was all versification rather then poetry,
though it showed his easy command of the English
language, and here and there is lit up with something of
divine fire. One hymn of his, at least, will last, and is
already much used at commemorative and anniversary
services. Its refrain is, " For the might of Thine arm we
bless Thee, our God, our fathers' God" (No. 654 in the
new Congregational Hymnary). The following poem
may be quoted as characteristic. It was published in
the British Weekly : —

CROMWELL: APRIL 25, 1599
BY C. SH.VESTEB, HOBNE

To the memory of the Great !

(And a grace to the God who gave)

To the uncrowned King of the English State,

Heaven-sent her soul to save

From the minion and the knave ;

And a broad, safe path to clear,

Her Great-heart Guide, with sword on side,

Meet chief for days austere.

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 267

To the memory of the Strong !

(And a grace to the God he knew)

To his hate divine for the deed that was wrong,

And his love for the speech that was true.

Fair league of brain and thew,

The Hero ripe for the Hour,

With his powder dry for the sceptred lie,

And the mitred pride of power.

To the memory of the Brave !

(And a grace to the God who sent)

To the hope of the weak that arose from the grave

Where the Lord Protector went.

For the bigot-crook he bent,

And the tyrant-throne he brake ;

Till trembling stayed their brand and blade

When the Lord Protector spake.

To the memory of the True !

(And a grace to the God he feared)

To the faith he gave where the gift was due,

And a man's plain word revered.

Died craft when he appeared,

In the clean, pure air he breathed.

For the vow fast sworn ere the sword was drawn

Was kept ere the sword was sheathed.

To the memory of the Free !

(And a grace to the God who taught)

To the right to see what a soul can see

In the viewless realms of thought.

And the Charter of Faith blood-bought

To the ever-broadening Day ;

Mind for Light, and our Manhood's right

To think, and speak, and pray.

To the memory of the Good !

(And a grace to the God who made)

Stand, freemen all, as this free man stood

To play the part he played.

Hearts pure and unafraid,

Faith simple, souls unstained,

Kept strong and calm by the prayer and the psalm,

To guard what he hath gained.

To his friends Home was far more than his work.
They admired his powers as preacher and teacher, but

268 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

they loved him for himself. He was the most loyal and
delightful of comrades, always the same, with a gay and
easy friendliness that could put the shyest individual
at his ease. Among his brethren in the ministry, and at
meetings of " fraternals," his presence acted like a
tonic. His busy life allowed him all too little leisure
for social intercourse of this kind ; but he made the most
of his holidays, and many of his friends have precious
and exhilarating memories of days on the golf-links
and nights of conference and laughter at Sheringham
and Church Stretton. He had a wonderful faculty for
combining the grave and gay, and would pass from
solemn discussions on some theological or ecclesiastical
point to almost boisterous jesting without any sense
of incongruity. There was a rich and full humanity
about him which delivered him from any taint of pro-
fessionalism, and his religion was so deep and sincere
that it expressed itself naturally in his whole demeanour.
Even his most bitter opponents felt the charm of his
rare personality, and did not hesitate to confess it. " No
one," said one of his friends, " who hits so hard makes
so few enemies." The following account of Home's
home life and of his relations with his children is contri-
buted by his eldest daughter, Dorothy : —

" Those winning qualities which made my Father
so deeply loved by all who knew him found their
happiest expression in his home life. His radiant spirits,
his humour, gentleness, and charm, made him the ideal
companion for children of all ages. Not only his own
children, but many others to whom his own child-like
spirit was always enchanting, remember him as the best
of playfellows and the most delightful of story-tellers.
When his key sounded in the front door there was always
a stampede in the nursery, and we almost fell downstairs
in our excitement to be first to give him a welcoming hug.
I think the reason why children adored him so whole-

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 269

heartedly was his entire absence of superiority and aloof-
ness. Although he could be stern when there was any
question of wrong-doing, he naturally met us children
as a friend and an equal. We were never in the least
afraid of him, but our love for him made us terribly
afraid of doing anything which would make him
sorry.

" It would be difficult to imagine a happier childhood
than ours. Religious teaching, if teaching it could be
called, was a thing of joy. Very many people remember
my Father's preaching chiefly for the beauty of his ad-
dresses to children. I am sure that he devoted as much
loving care to those as he did to his ' grown-up ' sermons.
He knew exactly how to appeal to little children, and
his addresses were gems of simplicity and tenderness.
He did not believe in the continual ' Don't,' which
has made religion seem harsh to some children. We
learnt our religion in positive terms, through the love
of nature, the love of each other, and the desire for
service which our Father and Mother taught us.
Sunday was always a favourite day with us, not
only because Father was usually at home, but be-
cause the spirit of the day was a conspicuously
glad one.

" One shining reason why our home was such a happy
one was the absolute consistency of Father's example.
He was an optimist because of his great faith in human
nature, and it was because of this faith that not one of
us ever heard him say an unjust or unkind word about
any person. He never grumbled, never complained,
and never spoke sharply to anyone. His genius for
friendship made him always find the best in everyone,
and made people anxious to show him their best. His
generosity in this way he carried almost to a fault, and
he would very often put himself out to do a service to
someone who was quite unworthy of his charity. It is
little wonder that our nursery days were wonderfully

270 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

happy ones. I remember the horror with which I
realized the difficulty some people have had in reconciling
the first words of the Lord's Prayer with the idea of a
loving God. To us the thought of God as a Father
meant a relationship of perfect love and confidence,
which we had ourselves experienced.

"As we grew older, the unquestioning love and trust
which we felt for Father as little children blossomed into
real companionship. This companionship was just as
strong when we were apart as when we were together.
He was a very busy man, and three of us were away at
boarding-school after the age of 14. The separation
only made the holidays all the more glorious. Father
loved London, and he was heart and soul in his work ;
but he always longed for the country and for the holi-
days, and was full of plans for making the most of every
moment. His passionate love of nature was evident to
anyone who knew him even slightly. ' It always makes
me contented with life,' he wrote to me at school, ' just
to shut my eyes and think of the coming springtime, and
the flowers and the lengthening days, and all the wonder
of the leaves. You are lucky to be in the country and
see it happen. When I was away at College at Glasgow
I used to come home in April, after months of city life,
and I can remember as well as anything going out into
the fields near Newport and flinging myself down on the
grass and crying as if I were a little child just for sheer
joy and relief ! Now I have got used to being in London,
and one can watch the leaves and flowers come out here ;
but I still feel just as excited over it all as when I was
your age.' He gave himself over to holiday-makin,
with tremendous joy and zest. In all our excursions
picnics, and games he was the life and soul of the party,
and just as full of excitement as any of us. He was very
fond of all games, and played golf, cricket, and tennis
enthusiastically. He played hard, but no bad play or
bad luck ever made him irritable, and he was always

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 271

ready to spend his time teaching those of us who were
only beginners.

' We had three bicycling tours during the last summers
of his life, and they were red-letter days. Each tour
took about a week, and on the last occasion, in 1913,
seven cyclists set forth, Father, Mother, and five of us.
We planned out our route beforehand, and went through
Monmouthshire and down the Wye valley ; but we left
the question of accommodation to chance, and stopped
at any inn we fancied on the way. These were great
occasions. We were all in rollicking spirits, and we felt
that time and speed were no object. Father's interest
in everything historical made the trips memorable, for
we explored all the border country, and his vivid
descriptions of the events of the past made them seem
very real.

" He was deeply interested in other countries and
peoples, and always enjoyed his tours abroad, but was
happiest when some of his family were with him. In
1908 he and Mother and I went with my Grandfather to
France, Switzerland, and Italy. ' I am just longing for
a few free and quiet days,' he wrote to me just before ;
' and oh, when we get away to the Continent I think I
shall just have as good a time as you will ! Won't we
go about together, and see wonderful sights, and rest
our tired eyes on the mountains and rivers and lakes !
What larks ! Already I begin to dream about it all,
and to wonder what you will think of everything you
see.' It was a glorious holiday for all of us, and for a
schoolgirl who had never been abroad before Father was a
wonderful companion. In Venice he, too, was a stranger,
and he and I spent long mornings with Ruskin in St.
Mark's and the picture galleries, and in wandering about
the shops and choosing presents for all at home. Often
on our holidays we would go for long walks together,
and in the talks we had then our friendship grew closer.
I shall always remember many of the talks I had with

272 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

my Father when I was at a very impressionable age.
He had a wonderful gift for making the past live, and
for talking so simply and vividly that a child could
appreciate. He would tell the stories of English History,
especially of the Elizabethan and Stuart times, and most
often of those whom he called ' your Puritan fore-
fathers' ; or he would let his imagination run riot, and
together we would invent stories about the country-side
where we were at the moment. Sometimes we would
make up absurd poetry or discuss the plots of comic
operas ; and sometimes, in a serious mood, he would talk
of the Church, of politics, our future plans, and his hopes
and fears in his own work.

" Father was very fond of writing, and as with every-
thing he possessed, he loved to share his ideas with others.
One summer, when we were in Norfolk, he decided that
we should collaborate in a novel. It was to be an his-
torical romance of the time of the Dissolution of the
Monasteries, and the scene was to be laid in those parts
of Norfolk which we knew best. We went for a walk,
and discussed the plot and the characters, and we cycled
to Blickling Hall in order to imagine Anne Boleyn in her
proper setting. We settled to write alternate chapters,
and I laboriously wrote the first, which I then took to
Father for his approval. He started on the second, but,
most characteristically, he got so enthralled with the
story that he wrote about six chapters straight off, and
then came and explained to me the purpose of all the
characters which had appeared without being sanctioned
by the original plan !

" He and I were most experienced collaborators. He
gave me the impression that my contributions were most
valuable, and was always ready for any suggestions ; but
all that was really skilful or amusing came from him.
Our collaboration was principally in the musical plays
we produced on Christmas Day. Ever since we were
quite tiny children Father and Mother had devised some

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 273

wonderful surprise for us on Christmas evening : a
fairy grotto in which the presents were hidden under the
custody of Father as Father Christmas, Aladdin's cave,
the North Pole, or something else which could be made
to look attractive with snow and greenery and fairy
lights. One Christmas, when we were rather older, the
eldest being about 14, Father wrote a little play for us
to act. The characters were Queen Elizabeth, Nelson,
a Suffragette, and Father Christmas ! We each had a
song to a well-known tune, and a certain amount of blank
verse. In the next play, and all that followed, Father
and I collaborated. They were written in an extremely
short time, and rehearsed in less, but we enjoyed
them tremendously. On the day I got back from
school for the Christmas holidays, Father and I
would shut ourselves up in his study and evolve a
plot and libretto and choose the music. We usually sat
and laughed till the tears rolled down our cheeks at our
own absurdities. Father could toss off really amusing
rhyming verse and songs to a particular tune with the
most amazing speed. The plays gradually got more
elaborate, and we had programmes printed, although
the audience never consisted of more than the immediate
household, and was generally outnumbered by the
performers.

" How Father found time to read as much as he did
it is hard to say, but he was an omnivorous reader, and
he had a great belief in the power for good of the best
books, fiction as well as other literature. In the even-
ings he would very often read aloud to us — most often
he chose Dickens, Scott, or Browning ; but Milton and
the Puritan poets of America appealed to him strongly.
He loved poetry above everything, as all knew who heard
him preach, and he read beautifully. Browning and
Milton he would have put first, for although he always
delighted in beauty of expression, he gave first place to
poetry with a moral appeal finely stated. The same
18

274 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

applied to the theatre. He believed intensely in the
great possibilities of the drama, and was most anxious
for us children to appreciate what was best on the stage,
although he strongly discouraged indiscriminate theatre-
going. I remember his delight in The Passing of the
Third Floor Back, and in Everywoman, to which he
took me ; and the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were a
continual joy to us all. We knew most of them by
heart, and often had musical evenings, when we would
take different parts, with my Mother as an unwearying
accompanist .

" When we were away from home Father's com-
panionship was no less precious to us. He very seldom
failed to write every week, and his letters were a con-
tinual inspiration. If ever we were in any difficulty or
trouble we knew we had his unfailing sympathy and help.
' In all your fights,' he wrote to me, ' whether it is up or
down at the moment, my sympathies and prayers and
love are always with you.' His letters were full of inter-
est : accounts of his own wanderings, discussion of his
work at Whitefields and of events in the House of Com-
mons, and, more than all, revealing a never-failing desire
to enter into all our interests and to guide our steps in
the light of his own experience. If I had to speak at a
school debate, he would write and cheer me on with his
own clear and reasoned views on the subject. If it was
a course of action that bothered me, he would send wise
and cheerful counsel, without for a moment attempting
to hinder free judgment and action. The question of
how we were going to use our lives in the future was
constantly in his thoughts. The following passage
from a letter to me expresses his view very clearly :
c. . . you may find several competing fields of service,
and then you will be able to exercise a free choice, un-
trammelled by any hindrances on the part of your Mother
or myself. You know, dear lassie, that my one and only
desire is to see all my children serving God and humanity

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 275

in the positions where they can be of greatest influence.
My advice, therefore, is to you to keep a quite open mind,
and at present run with patience the race that is set
before you. Make your interests as wide as possible,
but dig a good deep central channel by concentrating
on your present work. I have great confidence that the
light will come in which you will see clearly.'

" He loved to know about every detail of school and
college life, and he shared in all our ups and downs,
excitements, successes, and disappointments. When I
went to Oxford he was especially keen to know every-
thing, and on the occasions when he came to see me
we talked over our mutual impressions, his work and
my work, our plans and hopes. ' I am beginning to count
the hours to my Sunday at Oxford. Keep that kettle
bright. I yearn to see it shining on the hob ! We must
make the best of our hours. I intend to have a really
restful day, and to luxuriate in old associations and
new anticipations.'

" I really believe that Father used to get nearly as
excited as we did when the time for home-coming arrived.
' We are all getting horribly excited about Christmas,
and counting the days to your return. We have, of
course, planned a triumphal arch at Ampthill Square,
and engaged the Band of the Royal Horse Guards Blue,
and persuaded the Mayor of St. Pancras to read an
address to you as you alight from your growler at this
notorious establishment. Five balloons will be sent
up, and I propose to celebrate the occasion by a first
ascent in an airship.' Sometimes he would break forth
into verse : in fact, several of his letters to the younger
members of the family were in verse. The following
was written in an outburst of Christmas spirits !

I saw a Father, old and grey,
Who seemed to ache in every bone ;
His hair was like to ancient hay,
He spoke in quite a pulpit tone.

276 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

He seemed depressed, he seemed forlorn,
His back was bent, his eyes were dim,
His very clothes looked old and worn,
Even his public smile was grim.

He dragged his feet about the house
As though he could not run or leap ;
He sometimes whimpered like a mouse,
But mostly he would sit and weep.

There came an Angel to his side
With gauzy, feathery wings of pink ;
The Angel did not put on side,
But winked a sort of friendly wink.

A wreath of holly graced his brow,
Two mince-pies (rampant) were his crest ;
And as he made his courtly bow,
The mistletoe shone at his breast.

And what d'you think that Angel said
That made the old man laugh and grin,
And kick his heels and lift his head,
And dance around, and bark his shin ?

The Angel gaily twitched his ear,
The Angel slapped him on the back,
And in a jolly voice and clear
Cried, ' Dorothy is coming BACK ! '

" One of the most striking and lovable traits in my
Father's character was his capacity for sharing all good
things with his friends. In special measure this applied
to his own family. He never saw a beautiful sight,
read a good book, or experienced a new pleasure without
wanting to pass it on to those who loved him. He always
longed to share with us his new friends, and on occasions
when he was meeting someone whose friendship he
valued, or whose personality he admired, he would often
take a small son or daughter with him. He never
really felt that a pleasure was undiluted unless one of us
was there to share it with him. In the great moments
of his life we were never forgotten. On the first polling
day at Ipswich, though tired and harassed with claims

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 277

on every side, he found time to take me round the polling
stations with him, and he never forgot to be generous
to a child's intense excitement. At the time of the
second election, in December 1910, I was at school, and
bitterly disappointed not to be at Ipswich ; but I was
not forgotten, and in all the bustle and excitement of the
day he seized a moment to write. ' We are in the midst
of this eventful polling day. As I write to you those
fateful ballot-papers are dropping into the boxes all over
Ipswich, and no man knows what the hours will bring
forth. . . . There is short time now, but I must send
this to carry my love to Oliver and you. It is a good
fight, the best in the world ; and with all the stupid
mud-slinging of the other side I wouldn't be out of it
for a fortune.' And again on his first day in the House
of Commons : ' This is only a line from this famous place
just to let you know that I really am here, and have
made an affirmation of unchanging loyalty to King and
Constitution, which I hope means the People, for that
is what I care for ! '

" His friendship with all his children was no one-sided
affair. He not only shared whole-heartedly in our
interests and ideas, but he opened his whole heart and
brought us in to share his own ideas and to understand
his beliefs and the plan of his own life. Few people
have had so many and so varied interests and enthusi-
asms. One of the last talks I had with him was on the
blessing of a life which was full and varied. He dis-
trusted over- specialization, and he believed that by culti-
vating all the noble things of life, art, music, literature,
history, politics, social reform, the Christian life could
best be sweetened and strengthened. In his case his
joy in a multitude of interests and activities served only
to bring into greater prominence his overpowering love
of God and man, for which he would have sacrificed
them all.

" The shock of his death came on us like a thunderbolt

278 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

from a clear sky. We could only find comfort in the
knowledge that our relations with him had been per-
fect, and that his presence would continue to fill our
home, as it has indeed done. I cannot better conclude
than with some extracts from the last letter he wrote
me before leaving England for America in 1914. It
expresses better than any words of mine could what he
felt about the relation of Father to children.

' To me now in mid-life it seems so much greater
a thing that Christ should judge, criticize, guide, correct,
and control me than that I should worry about the critical
theories which do not touch His essential authority over
my life. Perhaps that is because I crave more and more
for real practical help ; and for hewing a way through
the serried ranks of temptations and trials there is no
sword like His. . . . There is one thing I do want to
say ever so much. I shall be horribly jealous if any
friend of yours is ever a more intimate friend than I
am. . . . The glory of my own Father was that he was
not only my Father but my friend. I talked everything
over with him, and took no step without him of any
consequence. That is why life has had such a blank space
in it for me since he died. I know that I have been so
busy here and there — too busy ! — that I have not always
seemed to you children the friend I have wanted so much
to be. It is not too late to begin. However busy and
engrossed I may be, you and your happiness are in-
finitely more to me than any other affairs can be. Dr.
Dale once began a letter to me in these words, ' What-
ever troubles you troubles me.' I pass it on to you, dear.
Let us be great friends and allies. It's a simple, natural
camaraderie for which one comes to yearn. It is the
solution of most difficulties and almost all troubles.
Most of us suffer quite needless inward poverty, and even
tragedy, because of our reticences and reserves ; and all
the while we might open our hearts and get the very

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 279

comfort we need. Let me be a better father than I have
been by becoming a closer friend. Let us be as thick
as thieves ! '

' The blank space which he felt for his own Father was
left for us when he died two months after writing this
letter. Even now we find it almost impossible to speak of
him, and to write of him as we knew him is also impossible.
We have a sacred and unfading memory, and we are
happy in the knowledge that it is shared with us by
hundreds of others who loved him and whom he loved."

The following are some of his letters to his children :—

To one of his Daughters

" February 23, 1914.

" Your letter gave us the utmost delight. Do you
know I did think of speaking to you at Christmas about
the Church, but I would so much rather that the desire
came from you. Your letter takes me back thirty years
or more, to the day when your Uncle Fred and I resolved
to take the first step. Things were perhaps a little
more formidable in those days. We were interviewed
by deacons ! They were very nice, however, and made
everything quite simple.

" Now let me put one or two points down for you,
dear : —

" (1) The only thing that really matters is that we
give ourselves to Christ, to live, to work, think, and dare
for Him. That is everything. You remember the
passage in Matthew where Christ asks His disciples who
they think He is, and Peter says, ' Thou art the Christ—
the anointed one — the King and the Son of the Living
God ' ; and Jesus said in effect, ' Yes, that's it ! On that
confession I will build My Church.' Anyone who accepts

280 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

Christ as King and Saviour ought to become a member
of His Church.

" (2) We Congregationalists ask nothing else. We
lay stress on no rites and ceremonies. We believe all
true Christians are of equal value in His sight, and
therefore our system is democratic. We were the first
real democrats in the world. We choose our own minis-
ters, pay our own way, and are free to have any kind
of service or worship we prefer. Also we regard all
other Christians as our brethren, though many of them
will not recognize us as real Christians at all. The
failure in brotherliness must never be on our side.

" (3) As to the Lord's Supper, we believe it is best to
have the very simplest form of it. We hold no super-
stitious view of the bread and wine, but regard it as a
covenant service in which we realize Our Master's
presence and consecrate ourselves to His service and
Kingdom.

" I will send you a little book, of which I was joint
author, which puts all this quite plainly. Also, if you
have time, read some of the first part of my Free Church
History, which tells how we came to be. But the great
thing is that we should be as close to the New Testament
model as possible."

" April 14, 1914.

How wonderful it is to think that you are really
seventeen, and that you are getting to the end of
school life and launching out on to the wide, wide sea !
Here we are 3,000 miles away, crying, Ave atque vale.
Last night I was lecturing at Whitefields on Abraham
Lincoln. The Toplady Hall was crowded. You must
read all about Lincoln. I put him second among my
heroes, and just as Cromwell was ' the greatest because
the most typical Englishman of all time,' so Lincoln
was the greatest because the most typical American.
The more I read his speeches the more they grow upon

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 281

me, and no romance is more thrilling than how he came
out of grinding poverty and became the uncrowned king
of America. His wit, his common-sense, his generous
soul made him an ideal hero for the democracy. ..."

" November 14, 1908.

". . . I am travelling north from Euston to Man-
chester, where I am to preach to-morrow, and I
have just remembered that my letter to you is due;
so here is some railway note-paper, and we can have
a chat while the train does its sixty miles an hour.
I have been so busy lately that it has been almost im-
possible to squeeze out time to write to anybody. First
of all, there was an article on John Calvin waiting to be
written for a book of essays, and it was promised for this
morning. So for most of the week I lived in Geneva in
the sixteenth century, and thought of Montreux, and the
Bernese Oberland, and old John Calvin, who made Geneva
a city of refuge for all the persecuted Protestants of
Europe. Well, the essay got itself written somehow,
and was duly sent off. But in the middle of it the
Minister for Education, Mr. Runciman, sent for me, and
all Tuesday I was at work trying to patch up a peace in
Education so that there should be no more passive
resistance, and the nation should manage the schools it
pays for. We shall very likely not succeed, and my time
will have been wasted, but one must do what one can to
bring an end to all this strife ; and I really do think that
the Archbishop of Canterbury wants to be fair this time.
Then there have been lots of meetings, and speeches to
be made on all sorts of subjects, and that meant time,
too ; so that now you know why you haven't got a
letter before this.

" I did not tell you about the opening of the Rylands
Hall, and how Mother made a very neat speech, which

282 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

was quite the speech of the day. We had a great time,
and enjoyed everything hugely. The Hall is ever such
a success, and you must see it when you come home at
Christmas. We like your long, interesting letters im-
mensely, and rejoice to think what a good time you have
at school. What clever people you ought to be, for
when I was at school we did not learn half the jolly
things you do. Just now we are all John Milton mad !
I have been lecturing and speaking about him, and am
arranging a great Mass Meeting on the subject for
December 6. The 9th is the great day, for he was born
on December 9, 300 years ago. ..."

" January 25, 1908.

". . . I am very glad you are going to try to
understand Free Trade. Free Trade means that we
want to have in this country the best of everything,
no matter in what part of the world it is made or
grown. We invite all the world to send quite freely
to us their best goods so that we may have the benefit
of them. Suppose, for instance, you want one of those
dear little Geneva watches, you can get it in London
almost as cheaply as you can get it in Geneva. But in
many countries you could not get it at all, because these
countries say to the Swiss watchmakers, ' If you send
watches here, you will have to pay a large sum of money
as a tax on each watch you send ' ; and that means that
they cannot afford to send them. Now we believe that
the people need the best of food from all quarters of the
world ; so we let it all come in quite freely to feed our
poor people. That is why quite poor folk can afford
oranges and bananas and tinned fruits and cocoa-nuts ;
and that is why bread is so cheap here while it is so dear
in Germany. We get wheat from America and Canada
and Russia and the Argentine Republic, and as we do
not put a tax on it, the price is always low, and good food

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 283

is plentiful. There are lots of old people in the country
who remember when bread was dear for poor people to
eat, and they had to eat potatoes and cabbages and
turnips, and hardly ever tasted bread. That was because
we put such a tax on foreign corn that the price was
very high indeed.

** You can see why this must be so if you try. Suppose
that in Harpenden there is a large Market Hall where
the country women come and sell eggs and butter. Now
perhaps the people who own the Market Hall say to the
country women, ' If you want to sell your eggs in this
building you must pay us a penny on every egg you sell.'
What does she do ? When she sells her egg she charges
that extra penny for it so that she shall not be out of
pocket. If the egg itself is worth a penny, and she has
to pay a penny to the Market Company for the right to
sell it, she will charge the person who buys it twopence.
So that the person who wants an egg to eat has to pay
not only the proper price of the egg, but the tax levied
by the Market Company. That is what you must try
to say. The person who really pays that tax is the
person who needs the egg and buys it. In political
economy we call that person the consumer. We Free
Traders argue that the consumer always pays the tax.
Free Trade means cheap food, and Protection means
dear food ; and the people in the country, and not the
foreigners, pay the tax in the long run. To talk about
taxing the foreigner simply means taxing yourself,
because you have to pay more for what the foreigner
sends. , ."

" IPSWICH,

" December 3, 1910.

" We are in the midst of this eventful polling-day.
As I write to you those fateful ballot-papers are dropping

284 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

into the boxes all over Ipswich, and no man knows what
the hours will bring.

" Bridget, Joan, and Ronald are here. Ronald is
hugely delighted and excited, and carries his Teddy
Bear everywhere with conscious pride. This morning
your Mother, Lady Goddard, and I have been all round
the place, and have had tremendous receptions. Every-
body seems to think the town is much more yellow than
it was in January, and the workers are confident ; but
we want every vote.

" Last night Lloyd George was here. It rained in
torrents, but we had the greatest political meetings in
the history of the town. You will see the full reports.
Lloyd George was immensely delighted, and he had such
ovations as only a great hero would ever receive.

" There is short time now, but I must send this to carry
my love to Oliver and you. It is a good fight, the best
in the world ; and with all the mud- slinging of the other
side I wouldn't be out of it for a fortune. . . ."

" January 6, 1911.

" I have told Mr. C. to post you the two books from
Whitefields, and I hope you will get them to-morrow.
You must let me know if any questions in your mind
remain unanswered ; and mark any passages in the
books that are not clear to you. I can never forget the
time when I joined the Church just before going to
College. It seemed to me then, and it seems still, the
greatest and most significant act of life — the choosing
of the ' side ' for which one was very definitely to strive
all through life, and putting on the colours.

" Coming up in the train I was haunted by the fear
that what I said to you might seem to emphasize the
points of difference between one branch of the Church
and another rather than the great point of membership
of the great indivisible Church and Kingdom. I did

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 285

not mean to do that. When you join the Church,
wherever it may be and under whatever form, you will
avow yourself a member of Christ's historic universal
Church, as one of His true disciples. We can confi-
dently claim that all that is of His inspiring in history
belongs to us, even as His Presence and Power are with
us always, even unto the end of the age. . . ."

"January 27, 1911.

. . Your Mother and I are going to Ipswich to-day
to have a real good rejoicing over the triumph. The
meeting is arranged by the women, and your Mother is
to take the chair ! I expect there will be quite 1,500
people present, and we shall have a glorious time. It
would be perfect if you and Oliver could come too. . . ."

" THE WHITE HOUSE, CHUBCH STRETTON,

" October 15, 1913.

" I am writing this in blazing sunshine, and the hills
are bathed in it too. The bracken and bilberries have
coloured them almost as the heather does. It is the
glorious end of a glorious summer. I have just got back
from staying in great pomp and glory at the Bishop's
palace at Lincoln. He is a nice sort of man, but I felt
no envy for him, and was glad my own lot in life,
was a simple one.

" Your last letter interested me very deeply, as you
may imagine. I am old-fashioned in my belief in the
Will and in predestination. We want just that sense
of ' destiny ' which is sometimes so difficult to realize.
But when it comes, it is the secret of peace and satis-
faction. You have two years before you yet, and they
should be splendid years, full of growing power and con-
sciousness of development. Things may — I do not say
they will — look very different to you as the time comes

286 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

for you to embrace some life-career. It is more than
likely that with the very real gifts God has given you,
you may find several competing fields of service ; and
then you will be able to exercise a free choice, untram-
melled by any hindrances on the part of your Mother
or myself. You know, dear lassie, that my one and only
desire is to see all my children serving God and humanity
in the positions where they can be of greatest influence1.
My advice, therefore, is to you to keep a quite open mind,
and at present run with patience the race that is set
before you. Make your interests as wide as possible,
but dig a good deep central channel by concentrating
on your present work. I have great confidence that the
light will come in which you will see light clearly. ..."

" November 13, 1913.

" If I were arguing the question I should concentrate
on two main points : —

" (1) The unique character of land. Its limited
quantity makes it easy to establish a monopoly. A
rich stranger buys an estate, and buys the homes and
livelihoods of scores and hundreds of people. He can
clear them all out : it has frequently been done. If
men do not vote as he pleases he can turn them out of
their cottages, and they have to go outside his estate ;
and a working understanding between a few Tory land-
lords means the mastery of a whole county. If you
were dealing with any other necessity of life, the policy
of Free Trade would make monopoly impossible. But
land demands special treatment.

" (2) The labourer is more unfortunately situated
than any other workman. Often wages can be improved
by Trade Union action. But that is where hundreds
or thousands of men meet at the same factory. The
labourers are so sparsely scattered over large districts
that they cannot combine effectively. They know little

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 287

or nothing of one another, and are conscious of their help-
lessness. The State ought to see justice done to them.
" In Ireland it will hardly be disputed that State
interference has been invaluable. But in new countries
like New Zealand they have a progressive land-tax.
The more land a man owns the heavier his tax, until
after a moderate amount the tax becomes practically
prohibitive, and land thus cannot be monopolized by
a few. . . ."

" CHURCH STBETTON,

" February 1, 1914.

' What a vigorous and merry life you seem to be
leading ! Prosis I "

" April 19, 1914.

" We have just got a splendid ' mail ' — as they call
it here — including letters from you all, and news of the
tragic, ever-to-be-lamented decease of the little white
pigeon. We wept four dewy drops of salt American
tears. We have almost forgotten our unpleasant ex-
perience on the Atlantic, and are travelling around among
the most delightful people, who are feting us and feasting
us to our hearts' content. Their houses are lovely, their
motors adorable, and their meals epics ! At Washington
we did many interesting things. I saw the President,
and had a very delightful talk with him. Then I had
lunch with five members of the Cabinet, including Mr.
Bryan. I was admitted to take a seat on the floor of the
Senate in great pomp and glory. The public buildings
at Washington are in white marble, and more gorgeous
than can be found in any other city of the world. We
came on here on Friday, and motored out from Phila-
delphia a few miles to this place (Haverford, Pa.) through
the most splendid park by the side of the Delaware
River. On Friday night I spoke to lots of people at

288 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

Haverford College on Home Rule for Ireland. Then
yesterday we went a very long motor drive, some eighty
miles through Pennsylvania. We saw where George
Washington had his camp at Valley Foya. Then we
went out to a very wild district till we came to a
delightful farm-house run by the Quakers as a boarding-
house. There we had lunch, and then went on over the
worst roads man ever saw, with ruts so deep that it would
not have surprised me to look down into them and see
England on the other side of the world. However, I
did not see you because I could not stop to look down,
as I was made to bound upwards to the stars, and
injured my best hat by hitting it against Mars (Mam-
mars) — joke ! Last night we had a swell dinner here,
and to-day I preached in Bryn Mawr church, so called
because this was originally a Welsh settlement. To-
morrow we travel on to Yale, and my lectures begin.
Or a pro nobis."

Of her husband and his work, Mrs. Home writes as
follows :

"It is impossible to write in a detached way of one
with whom one lived in the closest of intimacy for so
many years, or to express in any way the wonderful
qualities which made him the ideal husband and father.
In absolute unselfishness, an impartiality of judgment
and the most serene of tempers, an incorrigible youthful-
ness and gaiety of spirit, a love of home which cost him
more personal sacrifice than anything else, and above
all intensely strong affections — all these counted more
in his life than any of the qualities which made him
loved and admired by the world outside.

" My husband was a bad correspondent. He hated
writing letters, and never did so unless obliged. The
one exception he made was to his family. He and I
always wrote to each other every day when absent, all

CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS 289

the twenty-two years of our married life, and he often
wrote to the children — letters full of fun, and sometimes
illustrated. Sister Esther — the most devoted worker
at Whitefields — does not possess a letter of his. Others
who pestered him with unnecessary correspondence
had occasionally to be dealt with. He thoroughly
approved of the view that letters answer themselves
in time — but applications had to be tackled by his
colleagues. Of all those who helped him in this way,
Mr. Holmes was facile princeps as regards saving his
time and strength. No bore or impostor could long
escape his eagle eye, and he guarded the study with
wonderful efficiency, and never minded the risk of
making enemies if he could save him in any way.

" My husband always said that there was only one
woman that he understood, and that was his wife.
Women were mysteries to him, and he always felt that
his message was specially to men. Of the empty-
headed, purely society woman he had a horror. One
woman vowed that she could get any man to flirt with
her, and said she should try her hand on him. She
wrote to ask for an interview, which was arranged, and
confessed afterwards that she had been beaten for the
first time in her life. He felt that men — and women—
who did not attend church services were frequently
more Christian than those who did. There was no one
who cared less for form and conventionality. He
welcomed Congregationalism not only for its principles,
but for its freedom of thought and action. It was a great
blow to him when, at the end of his years at Whitefields,
certain members of the council felt that the subjects in
the Men's Meetings must be circumscribed, and more
definitely ' religious ' topics dealt with. He said that
he felt his work to have been in vain if he could not
make people see that every subject could be treated
from a Christian standpoint. I told him— what he
must have known— that these were only the views of a
19

290 CHARACTERISTICS AND INTERESTS

handful : the members of the Men's Meeting were
absolutely in accord with his views ; but I felt that
this was what definitely settled his future plans. He
always discussed freely every phase of his work. He
would come back and tell me that he had been preaching
a sermon that he knew I should like — my taste was
supposed to be somewhat more critical than many
people's — and he liked me to tell him exactly what I
thought. Those days cannot return, and it makes all
who knew and loved him feel that other services can
never be like his. He always said that he was a High
Churchman, and felt that there was a special meaning
in the celebration of the Lord's Supper that Noncon-
formists often missed. He sent his children to St.
George's School, Harpenden, where the headmaster
is a clergyman and the service of an Anglican type.
His sympathies were broad, and he could appreciate
the beauties of ritual as well as of the — ideally conducted
— simpler forms of worship. There was no littleness
in him, and he wished his children to mix freely with
those of differing faiths, and to appreciate the best in
each.

" No description of him could be complete without
referring to his keen sense of humour. This is what
made him so essentially human and non-parsonic to
the average man. Yet he never lost his dignity. He
suffered fools gladly — he was far too patient with
intruders, and seldom could bring himself to say no to
requests. Had he been less self-sacrificing, his own
life might have been spared. It was in a real sense
true that he laid down his life for others — and there
were no words more fitting to put on his grave."

CHAPTER X

CLOSING YEARS

IN the summer of 1911 Home paid another flying visit
to America on a preaching and lecturing tour. He
spoke at Chatauqua and at the Lake Winona conference
for students and teachers. The trip served as a holiday,
of which he stood greatly in need. The excitement of
politics and the late hours of Parliament had begun to
tell on him, and he welcomed the voyage particularly
as an opportunity of making up arrears of sleep. He
wrote to his eldest daughter : —

" NIAGARA FALLS,

" August 27, 1911.

" I am writing you a birthday letter from one of the
famous places of the world. If only the railways and
the steamships do their duty, this letter ought to post
over land and sea and get to you somewhere about your
birthday ; but I fear it will be a little late. It was raining
in torrents when I got to Niagara. The whole valley
was full of rain and mist, so that you could hardly see
anything. I went straight down from the hotel to the
river, and stood by the brink and watched the rapids
swirling and leaping along. There was not a gleam of
sunshine, and it seemed to me to-day, as before, rather a
terrible place. From the top where I was you cannot
see the fall. You simply see where the river ends — just
a straight line, and a column of white steam rising up.
Beyond, you see the wooded cliffs of the great gorge,
and you hear the sound of many waters, the hoarse roar
of the tumbling billows. I came here from Buffalo,

291

292 CLOSING YEARS

down the Niagara river as it were, and it is wonderful
how calm the river is till you get quite near the falls.
The little ferry-boats ply across, and all seems so tranquil
and free from danger. Then suddenly the high land
begins to slip away, and the river goes downstairs, in
leaps, until at last it just plunges over the precipice
into space. After dinner I walked across the suspension
bridge, and the American Falls looked like a white
glimmering ghost, so weird and eerie. To-morrow I
hope there will be some colour in the water, and then
I shall see it as it was sixteen years ago.

" I came here from Chatauqua, and one day I must
bring you to Chatauqua, for it seems to me one of the
most interesting and unique places I have ever seen. It
is on a beautiful lake and in the midst of groves and
woods, and is wholly given over to a great summer school.
There are Greek Temples for Music, Art, and Religion,
a magnificent auditorium open at the sides and fringed
with lovely trees, and holding 5,000 people. There are
schools, colleges, gymnasia — everything you can con-
ceive ; and the loveliest wooden bungalows in every
fascinating shape, and buried among the avenues, com-
manding lovely peeps of the lake. The people come from
all over the States, and are really the leaders of American
life. They get the finest speakers and preachers of the
world here, and the audiences are certainly worth coming
to see. When I get home I shall tell you all about it.

" I stopped on the way here at Buffalo, which some
people think is the most beautiful city in America. The
mansions and avenues and public buildings certainly
surpassed all my expectations ; and this notwithstanding
the fact that it rained cats and dogs all the time. Your
Mother was strangely deluded when she thought it was
going to be hot here. I wish it would be even decently
warm."

Before he went to America Home had the disagreeable

CLOSING YEARS 293

task of bringing a libel action against two papers called
John Bull and Mrs. Bull for a scurrilous attack upon
himself in an " Imaginary Interview," and other articles.
Some of his friends thought that he would have been
well advised to treat the matter with silent contempt.
But he found that it was doing harm, not to himself, but
to the cause which he represented, and he took the bold
course. The case ended in his receiving an apology and
damages. It was a vulgar and squalid business, and
there is no need to rake up the details of it further. But
it put an effective stop to a form of persecution which
had been going on for some time. Home's social and
municipal work at Whitefields had aroused a good deal
of enmity among some who stood for various vested
interests, and his plain speaking and hard hitting as a
politician did nothing to placate them. He was attacked
with every device of low cunning and poisonous in-
nuendo ; but when his assailants at last brought them-
selves within reach of the law, he defended himself with
entire success.

Meanwhile he was busy with another book, a short
biography of Dr. Livingstone, for the London Mission-
ary Society. He wrote it con amore, for Livingstone
appealed to all that was high and adventurous in his
own spirit. The result was a fine and moving narrative
of a great career admirably adapted to kindle enthusiasm
in the young folks for whom mainly it was intended.
One outcome of this work was his collaboration, in the
following year, with Mr. Hamish McCunn in the produc-
tion of a Livingstone cantata, which proved very popular
on missionary occasions. About this time, also, Home
began to think of obtaining a house at Church Stretton,
a place which he greatly loved and intended to be his
permanent home. It was in his native county, Shrop-
shire, and he had for some time been accustomed to find
rest and recreation there. It was becoming increasingly
evident to him that he could not long continue doing the

294 CLOSING YEARS

double work of Whitefields and Parliament, and he was
on the look-out for some place in the country in which
to find refuge from the rush of London. For many
reasons Sheringham was not suitable for more than
holiday occasions. But at Stretton he found just what
he wanted, and he took great delight in all the arrange-
ments for the new home — destined to be his for all too
brief a time.

In October 1912 his eldest daughter, Dorothy, went
up to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. The following
letters to her are characteristic : —

"October 14, 1912.

" We have been talking much of you, and I have been
thinking about your great new experiences all the time.
I wonder how you managed, who you saw, and what your
first impressions are. It is a wonderful event, settling
in at the University, and beginning life in the glorious
historic, academic home of so many of the greatest of
our English fathers. You ought to begin by reading
Matthew Arnold's wonderful preface to his Essays. Do
you remember the famous phrases about ' the lost en-
chantments of the Middle Age,' ' home of lost causes and
forsaken beliefs,' and so forth ? Fortunately for you
Oxford is showing herself more than this. She is still,
I think, the Mother of new ideals — certainly of new
idealists. The University that bred both Wesley and
Pusey can never stand outside religious movements.
Sometimes she calls us to reconsider and reproduce the
past ; but sometimes she plays a braver and wiser part,
and to-day there is in Oxford a progressive spirit with
which you will find yourself in deep sympathy and
agreement. When University tests were first abolished
by Mr. Gladstone, and the earliest Free Church invasion
of Oxford and Cambridge took place, many among us
were timid and fearful as to the result. But since then
we have learned to be secure in our own principles,

CLOSING YEARS 295

and to understand our own history and traditions
better ; and this is good for us in every way. We can
do what so many Church people, to their loss, dare not
do. We can get the best wherever we find it. We can
learn from them, and join occasionally in their services,
though they still stiffen and narrow themselves against
public association with us in worship and service. That
is why, outside England, we have won the day absolutely.
The Protestant platform has got to be broad and gen-
erous and inclusive, and one can only feel sorry for those
who are the victims of a sacerdotal view which cuts them
off from helpful association with millions of their fellow-
Christians.

" You will find that this is more and more the dividing
line. Mere differences in ecclesiastical organization will
count less and less in the future. But glad acknowledg-
ment of the Christianity of all who love Christ, and
willingness to unite with them in worship and at the
Communion, and so forth, is the great thing, and it
gives us an immense advantage in the modern world.

" All this is rather sermonic, my dear child, but I want
you to realize it at the start, because it will keep you
amid all problems and experiences true to the best and
wisest conceptions of Christ's Church and Kingdom.

" Have the best of times ; and get all the good out
of Oxford you can, and give her of your best. ..."

11 October 29, 1912.

"... Yours is a splendid letter, and helps us to realize
your new life and its possibilities. You seem to be
having a gay and strenuous time. The debate was quite
a triumph. It is one of my hopes that you will become
increasingly capable in putting things in this way before
others. There are so many good ideas in the world
which never get a proper show because of lack of com-
petent exponents. After all, people are curiously willing
to be taught ; and in Oxford there is no indisposition to

296 CLOSING YEARS

accept new ideas. What we want always and every-
where is missionaries — what Aunt S. disapproves as
' agitators ' ! These causes can only be won by people
who will agitate for them. I now regard you as having
definitely joined the ranks of the agitators ! . . ."

" November 19, 1912.

"... Wasn't this House disgraceful last week ? It
really made me ashamed and horrified. In a way
I think it has done good, for all sorts and kinds of
people have joined in protest ; and the Tory vandals now
see that to wreck the proceedings of the House of Com-
mons is not to win but to lose their cause. Asquith has
really come out of the mess magnificently. His dignity
and courage have never been more perfectly illustrated.
We on our side are tremendously proud of him and loyal
to him.

" Let me tell you another piece of news. You re-
member Hamish McCunn, who wrote the music to the
Orient Pageant. Well, he and I have collaborated over
a Livingstone Cantata. It will be quite short, but I
think it will be a great success. I have, of course,
written the words ; but we are going to have as a climax
a setting of words chosen from Myers' St. Paul, and
McCunn has written a really glorious tune. . . ."

" December 2, 1912.

"... When you come home we must talk about this
question of disendowment. It is too big for a letter.
But in the main, of course, it is a question of tithe : and
tithe is a tax levied on land for the support of a Church.
You cannot free a Church from State control and still
allow it to tax all sorts and conditions of people for its
own support. In multitudes of parishes in Wales not
more than half a dozen people go to the parish church,
yet the whole parish is taxed through the tithe to support
a parson who is not in the least acceptable to the people.
The whole system is ridiculous, and ought to be abolished.

CLOSING YEARS 297

It has been an open scandal for years. The tithe was,
of course, originally imported from England and imposed
on the Welsh people against their will. The whole case
is conclusive against the perpetuation of tithe. Beyond
that there is a case, though not a very sound one, for
allowing the Episcopal Church to have the exclusive
enjoyment of those ancient endowments which were,
in point of fact, originally the property of the Roman
Church. We say, and say truly, that when the Church
became Protestant these endowments were transferred
to a Protestant Church, and now the Church is over-
whelmingly Free Church another disposition of this
property ought to be made. It cannot be made to us,
for it is against our principles to accept State endow-
ments ; but it might be used for charitable and philan-
thropic purposes common to all the Welsh people. That
roughly is the case. . . ."

" January 21, 1913.

'* . . . We are steadily working through our business
in this House, and the excitement of the Franchise Bill
is at the door. Everywhere you find animated groups
discussing ' Women.' There is no interest left in men !
Ought women still to be ranked with peers and lunatics,
or do they deserve to be treated as rational, responsible
beings ? The discussion is all the more interesting be-
cause violent partizans are found in both lobbies, and
you are never sure what view your neighbour will take.
You start a friendly conversation on the subject, and in
a few seconds vials of boiling oil are poured out over you.
Fortunately on the main question I am not convertible
one way or the other ; but when it comes to the degree
of enfranchisement possible just now, it is of course
another story. We have the best chance of getting Mr.
Dickinson's amendment, but a limited franchise would
certainly ruin Liberalism, and nothing will persuade me
to vote for a new propertied vote. ..."

298 CLOSING YEARS

" January 27, 1913.

" You seem to be in for a high old time politically,
and you must, of course, acquit yourself in a way worthy
of the two distinguished families you represent ! So
I will sketch for you the line I would myself take if
I were arguing the Referendum proposal. First of all,
its impossibility in our mixed community. Scottish
law is quite different from English, and Irish law from
both. You could not have a Referendum on Scotch Land
Reform because no Englishman would understand it.
Again, a Referendum on Welsh Disestablishment would
not be fair if the matter were to be decided by people who
would not be affected at all one way or the other. In
America — which is sure to be quoted — the Referendum
only applies to separate States. Woodrow Wilson, the
great advocate of it, told me that it could not be applied
over the whole Union. That shows the practical im-
possibility of applying it here to all parts of the United
Kingdom.

" (2) You cannot get a pure Referendum on a single
subject. That must be clear to everybody. You cannot
tell why an elector votes Yes or No. If he is a strong
Tory he does it, probably, to embarrass the Government,
and not because of any views he takes on the particular
question. Look at Women's Suffrage, which is the most
favourable subject for a Referendum. Just think what
variety of motives have been influencing people lately
as to how they should vote on the subject in the House
of Commons.

" (3) You cannot refer general principles because
you would never get both sides to agree on a statement
of them. You must therefore refer complicated Bills,
like the Home Rule Bill. Every objection possible to
any clause might lead someone to say No, even though
he strongly approved of the principle of the Bill. The
Referendum is thus a device for uniting against reform
every carping critic, and every conceivable school of

CLOSING YEARS 299

objector. It would thus make Reform frightfully difficult
in a country like ours.

" (4) The Referendum is really the end of Represen-
tative Government. Our belief is that we should choose
our man and make him a responsible representative,
answerable to us. But if you have the Referendum,
he will say, ' Oh, let us have a popular vote to save me
trouble.' The system must undermine parliamentary
responsibility and do a great deal of mischief. . . ."

In 1913 Home became President of the National
Brotherhood Council. This meant further demands on
his time, but he met them ungrudgingly. His experience
at Whitefields had convinced him of the great possi-
bilities of the Brotherhood movement as an active
adjunct of the Church, and as a means of mobilizing the
Christian manhood of the country for social and philan-
thropic service of many kinds. In his presidential address
at the annual meetings in Birmingham he described the
movement as a new Protestantism which stood for "the
full religious rights and privileges of what old Piers
Plowman called ' the common man,' " and he outlined
a practical programme of applied Christianity well cal-
culated to appeal to all that was best in his hearers.
Among these Brotherhoods Home was immensely
popular. The men felt that he was their friend, that
he understood them, and was able to voice their aspira-
tions as well as their needs. They followed his career
with the deepest interest as that of one who meant what
he said and who was not afraid to practise what he
preached. After his death no more sincere or touching
tributes were received than those from working men who
had been accustomed to look to him as the leader of
their choice. In one of his last public utterances Home
paid tribute to the movement as one of the most remark-
able in the recent history of Christianity, and described
the secret of its attraction as twofold : " Firstly, it

300 CLOSING YEARS

presents for the acceptance of men a very simple faith ;
and secondly, it brings them to close quarters with cer-
tain giant social evils which we of the Churches have
ignored too long."

What leisure time Home could obtain during this busy
year was occupied with preparing the " Yale Lectures on
Preaching," which he was under promise to deliver in
America in the spring of 1914. It was a task quite after
his own heart. He chose for his subject " The Romance
of Preaching." Beginning with a discussion of prophetic
and apostolic preaching, he went on to deal with his
theme historically, illustrating it from the lives of great
preachers of every age — Athanasius and Chrysostom,
Savonarola and Knox, John Robinson, Wesley and
Whitefield. The lectures are printed just as they were
spoken ; but they give evidence of careful preparation,
and even the written word glows with something of the
energy and enthusiasm of the speaker. The book is full
of good things, unexpected sidelights and wise counsels :
Home loved to magnify the preacher's office, and it is
easy to read between the lines and see how true he was to
his own great ideals. As delivered the lectures made a
very great impression. Dr. Charles R. Brown, of Yale,
wrote of them : " Few lecturers have ever so gripped the
divinity students, the larger audience of pastors in active
service, and the thoughtful people of Newhaven as did
Silvester Home." " The intellectual distinction which
marked his utterances, the fine literary form in which
they were phrased, the moral passion which gave to
their delivery that energy which belongs to words which
are ' spirit and life,' together with the rare spiritual
insight displayed, all combined to make notable the
service he rendered to Yale University."

The delivery of these lectures was practically the last
service which Home rendered to his generation. By
the close of the year 1913 it was becoming evident that
his bodily strength would not much longer be equal to

CLOSING YEARS 301

the strain he was putting upon it. He decided, under
advice, that he must retire from Whitefields. It was a
great wrench, but, in a sense, his work there was done.
He had been a pioneer, and it was quite possible for
others to carry on and consolidate that which he had so
well begun. He was happy in being able to hand over his
work to so competent a successor as the Rev. Charter
Piggott, who had for some little while been his assistant
definitely with a view to this end. For himself he meant
for a time to continue in Parliament and give himself
to public work.

The resignation from Whitefields took effect in January
1914, and in the spring of the same year Home started
for America, accompanied by his wife, to deliver his Yale
Lectures and to fulfil other engagements in the States
and in Canada. There was some misgiving about his
undertaking the task, and the doctors told him that he
would need to avoid all over-exertion. It was hoped,
however, that the rest of the voyage would do him good,
and in any case his programme was not an unusually
heavy one. He greatly enjoyed lecturing and preaching
at Yale, and his bearing was full of life and power.
The visit was an unqualified success, renewing old friend-
ships and making new ones. From Boston he went on
to Niagara, and thence took boat to Toronto. As the
boat entered Toronto harbour he was walking on the deck
with his wife when he suddenly fell, and before aid
could reach him his bright spirit had passed. It was a
great and fitting thing that he should be thus called
away in the midst of his work, but to his friends the shock
was overwhelming. The great Brotherhood meeting
which he was to have addressed on arrival in Toronto
was turned into a memorial service, the first of many in
which all sorts and conditions of people met to express
their sorrow and to thank God for the gift of so great
a life.

Home's body was taken from the ship to the house of

302 CLOSING YEARS

Mr. Ro well, 'whose guest he was to have been. He and
his family and other Canadian friends were untiring in
their sympathetic helpfulness to Mrs. Home in this time
of sore need. She bore herself with great bravery
through it all, and it was arranged that she should
accompany the body back to England a few days later.
Here at home the sense of loss was acute and widespread,
and found expression in innumerable tributes from all
sorts and conditions of people, and in a great number
of memorial services all over the country. The Con-
gregational Union was then in session in London, and
the City Temple was never filled by a larger or more
representative audience than met to pay to Home the
last loving tribute. The note of the service was one of
triumph and hope tinged only with the passionate regret
that his time should have been so short.

The body was laid to rest in the peaceful little burial-
ground of Church Stretton. At the service there Home's
lifelong friend, Dr. Forsyth, spoke words which may
well serve to sum up the story we have tried to tell in
this book.

" Silvester Home belonged to those who are a bond
between nations. He died while acting as a link
between the old world and the new. But also in his
death he is a living link between the seen and unseen
worlds. These are the deaths that do not impoverish
life, but enrich it. So Death is the Great Reconciler.

" Therefore draw no blinds down, pull the curtains
aside, flood the house with sunshine, strew the place
with lively flowers for our lively hope, bid the young
not cease their play, and the old not cease from their
wholesome talk of friendly things. It is all less joyous
than the air of his place now in the house not made with
hands. It is the note of blessing, and triumph, and glory,
and gladness that answers best his present frame, if

1 N. W. Bowell, K.C., a member of the Ontario Legislature.

CLOSING YEARS 303

our faith is true. The very Cross is submerged in the
Resurrection joy. Let a solemn gladness keep our hearts
and minds in Jesus Christ.

"He went quickly in one speechless moment. But
do not speak of it as tragic.

As a guest, that may not stay
Long and sad farewells to say,
Glides with smiling face away,

Of the sweetness and the zest
Of thy happy life possessed,
Thou hast left us at thy best.

" I am here because (I am told) he would have wished
it. But if we think of his wishes, and if any voice of his
could reach us now, he would bid us speak not of him
but of Christ, who was the supreme passion of his full
and eager life. That quick manner of leaving life
became the swift spirit of it.

" He was a ' happy warrior ' (what a Sword of the
Spirit he was, with a point, and an edge, and a flash, and
a laugh). And as that warrior was in a crisis

. . . attired
With sudden brightness like a man inspired,

so we may think of the sharp crisis of our brother's end.
I think of that eagerness as he rushed — shall we say
rushed ? — at a sharp call, with a sudden and shining
surprise, into the presence of his Lord. He went as the
lightning flashes from this earthly end of heaven to the
other. He went with a pure apostolic haste, tarrying
to salute no man by the way, nor bid farewell to his
ownest own. There is in Padua a fresco by Giotto of
Christ's Resurrection in which He seems almost shooting
upwards from the tomb, His face impatient to leave the
world and return to His Father. And we can think of
this soul now, taking his way through that heavenly
place to his Lord's side with more than all the raptness

304 CLOSING YEARS

he spent on his Lord's cause here. As who should say,
' This one thing I do. I praise and magnify His glorious
Name. Let us exalt His name together. Rejoice
evermore.'

" In the lives of true saints and great wrestlers with
God (yea, and of some who know themselves to be
neither !) there come times when they wish to pray no
more. It is not weariness, nor impatience, nor despair.
It is the other way. It is fruition. ' In that day ye
shall ask Me nothing.' It is not even repose. It is the
old energy in a new and higher form. It is praise. It is
adoration. We just worship. So death comes to such a
soul as once filled this clay before us. Here his life was
one ceaseless labour, one urgent and sustained prayer.
Toil and prayer were one. It was a divine, sleepless
importunacy. No one more incarnated the words —

I will not cease from mental strife,
Nor let the sword fall from my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

But all that now gives way. Quest ends in conquest.
And he does not simply rest from his labours. He
' triumphs in conclusive bliss.' The energy of his
blessed spirit goes out in praise, and all that is in him is
stirred up to bless and magnify his Saviour's Glorious
Name, in such high offices as suit the perfect energies
of heaven. That should be our frame if we follow him
in spirit.

" It is not well at such times to say much about heaven
or about the dead. They know more than we do. And
I am not praising Silvester Home, but God's Grace in
him. I would join him as he praises — as in worship
we forget the man next us. We cannot praise too much
Him in whose worship our dead are lost to the world.
But is it heartless praise, his worship now ? Can he for-
get us ? No more than the bride forgets her father's

CLOSING YEARS 805

house when she goes to be always with her new lord.
Once he was ours, now he is much more Christ's— yet
ours still. And there are great reunions."

To the multitude of his friends the news of Home's
premature death came as a staggering blow. Letters
poured in upon his widow from every quarter of the globe.
They give abundant evidence not merely of his wide-
spread influence for good, but of the deep affection and
regard in which he was held by friends and opponents
alike. The Bishop of London wrote : " I had the greatest
respect and affection for him," and the same note was
struck by many others who were not of his way of
thinking.

His memory will long remain in " lives made better
by his presence." But it was thought that there should
be some tangible public memorial of a life so long dedi-
cated to the public service. A movement to this end
was set on foot soon after his death, and the scheme
untimately took the form of a village institute at Church
Stretton, which should serve as a religious, social, and
educational centre for all the people of the district. Sub-
scriptions came in from far and near, and a beautiful
and convenient building was erected from the design
of Mr. Garrett Horder. It was opened and dedicated
to his memory in September 1917, when the Bishop of
Hereford, Mr. Augustine Birrell, and Dr. J. D. Jones
joined in paying fitting tribute to the man and his work.
May this record of his life serve also to keep his memory
green, and to stimulate others to follow where he led.

20

INDEX

Acland, Mr. A., 200

Adeney, Dr., 79, 190

Alden, Mr. Percy, 91, 154

Alexander, Sir G., 183

Allen, Mr. J. J., 249

Allen Street Church, 42

Allenson, Mr., 97

Allon, Dr. EL, 148

Amberley Ridge, 257

America, churches in, 228

American visits, 109, 167, 292

" Anarchy and Brotherhood," 208

Angus, Dr., 78

Archbishop of Canterbury, 199 f.

Army and Navy, 223

Arnold, Dr., 113

Arnold, Matthew, 151

Ashford, 190

Asquith, Mr., 177, 199, 211, 236

Aylesbury, 194

Balfour, Mr. A., 194, 196, 211

Bantock, Alderman, 249

Baptist principles, 78

Barran, Mr. R., 130

Barrett, Mr. B. J., 103

Ban-owe, 78 f., 153

Beale, Mr. J. E., 249

Belloc, Mr. Hilaire, 258

Bennett, Rev. J., 138

Bennett, Sir Risdon, 143 f.

Berry, Dr. Chas., 107

Bible in schools, 226

Bicycling tours, 269

Birmingham, 195

Birrell, Mr. Augustine, 126, 177,

198, 235

Black Country tour, 254
Blickling Hall, 270
Bluff, the, 94
Boer War, 112f.
Booth, Chas., 179
Bradford, call to, 132
Bridgnorth, 186
Bristol, visit to, 135

British Weekly, 132

Brotherhood work, 175, 258, 299

Brown, Dr. Chas. R., 298

Brown, Mr. W. H., 135, 174, 177

Browning, Mrs., 84

Bryce, Lord, 112, 131

Bull, John, 293

Burns, Mr. John, 191, 212

Bute Hall, 88

Butler, Mr., of Bristol, 253

Butt, Mme C., 123

Caird, Principal J., 89
Caird, Professor E., 7, 23, 89
Calderwood, Professor, 17
Calvin, John, 279
Cambridge, Mission in, 120f.
Campbell-Bannennan, Sir H.,

127 f., 194
Campbell, Rev. R. J., 128, 133,

156, 166, 192, 208
Carrington, Earl, 174
Carr's Lane Church, 37
Carson, Sir E., 238
Carter, Mr. John, 177
Cathedrals, use of, 234
Catholic emancipation, 238
Cave, Lord, 232
Cecil, Lord Hugh, 200, 231, 244
Cecil, Lord Robert, 244
Centenary of L.M.S., 87
Century of Christian Service, 82
Chair of Congregational Union,

206 f.

Chamberlain, Mr., 161, 183, 242
Chamberlain, Mr. Austen, 195, 243
Chartered Company, 105
Chat an qua, 292
Children and the Bible, 159
Children, love of, 266
Chisholm, Rev. J., 221
Christian World, 101, 263
"Church by Grace Established,"

208
Church membership, 277

307

308

INDEX

Church Times, 79, 153
Churchill, Mr. Winston, 196
Clarence, Duke of, 145
Clavering, 140
Clay, Rev. Chas., 101
Clifford, Dr., 78, 129 f., 200
Collins, Sir Stephen, 256
Collings, Mr. Jesse, 187, 244
Commons, House of, 191, 214,

222 f.

Congo, speeches on, 222
Congregational Union, 75
Conway, Professor, 147
Contemporary Review, 243
Cook, Mr., of Aldborough, 253
Cornwall, tour in, 174
Country churches, 246
Courtney, Mr. W. L., 33
Coventry Patmore, 167
Cozens-Hardy, Lord, 99
Cozens-Hardy, W. H., 38, 62, 150
Craven Arms, 187
Cromer, visit to, 155
Cromwell celebration, 109
Cromwell, Oliver, 264
Cuckfield, 2, 3
Cuh-oss, Dr., 21

Daily Mail, 115
Daily News, 112
Dale, Dr. R. W., 31, 37, 83, 91,

142, 242, 276
Darlow, Rev. T. H., 38, 73, 102,

147

D'Aubigny, M., 210, 230
Denney, Rev. Dr., 252
Devon, tour in, 253 f .
Dialectic (Glasgow), 9 f., 18
Diamond Jubilee, 102
Dickinson, Sir W. H., 295
" Discipline and Discipleship,"

143

Disendowment, 296
Disestablishment, 12, 17
Dorset, tour in, 256
Dykes, Rev. Dr., 120

Edinburgh, call to, 116
Education Bill, 127, 129, 186
Education Question, 64
Edward, King, 122, 172
Edwards, J. H., M.P., 252
Elmslie, Professor, 65
Emmanuel Church, Cambridge,

120

Evan Harrington, 263
Evangelical Magazine, 152

Evans, Rev. Justin, 88
Everywoman, 272
Examiner, The, 194
Exeter Hall, 139, 149

Fairbairn, Principal, 19, 31, 33, 60,

117

Farrar, Canon, 25
Finlay, Sir R., 240
Fordham, Mr. A., 167
Forsyth, Dr., 302
Foster, Sir W., 105
Fraternal Society, 72, 145
Free Churches, History of, 262, 278
Free Trade, 279
Friendships, 274
Furner, Rev. A., 7

George, Mr. Lloyd, 206, 208, 282
George Street Church, Oxford, 41
Germany, tour in, 9
Germany, visit to, 202 f.
Gibson, Dr. Munro, 65
Gilbert and Sullivan, 272
Gilbert, Dr. S., 110
Gladstone, Mr., 33, 95, 106
Gladstone, Mr. H., 127
Glasgow Herald, 263
Glasgow, meetings at, 129
Glasgow University, 7 f., 88
Gloucestershire tour, 257
Goddard, Sir D. Ford, 206
Golf at Ashford, 190
Goodhart, Dr., 160
Goodman, Miss, 139
Goodrich, Dr. A., 8, 9, 15
Grace, Dr. W. G., 171
Green, Mr. Arnold, 141
Greenwood, 79, 153
Grimm, Dr., 204
Gurdon, Sir W. B., 253

Hackney, Rev. Professor, 124
Halifax, Lord, 125, 130
Hamburg, visit to, 204
Hampshire tour, 251
Harcourt, Sir W., 16, 104, 161
Hardie, Mr. Keir, 191
Harnack, Dr. A., 204
Hart, Dr. Lavington, 75
Harwood, Rev. Hardy, 148, 194
Hatch, Dr. E., 66
Hawthorne, Nath., 168, 178 f.
Heretic, A Modern, 262
Herschell, Lord, 139
Higher Criticism, 145

INDEX

309

History of the Free Churches, 126,

136

Hocking, Rev. Silas, 129, 195
Holborn, Mr. W., 50, 54, 65, 105
Holmes, Rev. J., 174
Home Life, 266
Home Rule Bill, 152
Home, Chas., 3 f., 135 f.
Home, Fred, 138, 177 f., 185
Home, Leonard T., 83
Home, Miss D., 266
Home, Mrs. C. S., 175, 279, 283
Horton, Dr., 96 f., 113, 146, 151
Hugh Price Hughes, 83, 127
Huntingdon, Countess of, 134
Hutton, Mr. A., 186, 187
Huxley, Dr., 188
Hyde Park meetings, 81
Hymns, 264

Imaginary interview, 293

Independent, 73, 104, 153, 161

International Council, 73, 109, 139

Introspection, 84

Ipswich election, 206 f., 213, 275

Ireland, Church in, 230

Ireland, tour in, 256

Ireland, visit to, 198

Irish University, 105

Isle of Man, 141

Italian Lakes, 99

Italy, holiday in, 125

Itinerant ministry, 245 f .

Jebb, Professor, 17, 18

Jericho, 101

Jerusalem, 101

John Bull's Other Island, 192

Jones, Dr. J. D., 127, 194, 198,

246 f.

Jones, Wm., M.P., 63
Jowett, Dr. J. H., 60, 174, 211

Kane, Captain, 163

Kelvin, Lord, 12, 88

Kensington Church Centenary, 82

Kenward, Rev. H., 252

Kidderminster, 191

King's Declaration, speech on,

223
Kingston-on-Thames, 6

Land question, the, 284
Lawrence, Rev. E., 146
Lawson, Sir W., 14, 131
League of Nations, 261
Let us Pray, 102

Letheringsett, 94, 99
Leys School, 120, 121
Liberal Party, 95
Lidgett, Dr. Scott-, 199 f.
Life and Labour in London, 179
Life that is Easy, The, 97
Lincoln, Abraham, 278
Liquor question, 188
Liverpool, call to, 132
Livingstone, Life of David, 262, 293
Llanfairfechan, 141
London, Bishop of, 305
London Congregational Union,

108, 134, 146
London Missionary Society, 51,

149, 154
London Missionary Society,

history of, 262
Lord's Supper, the, 278
Ludlow election, 177 f.
Lydbury North, 187
Lyndhurst Road Church, 45
Lyttelton, Mr. A., 244

Macaulay, Rev. Dr., 239
Macfadyen, Dr. J. A., 22
Mackennal, Dr., 31 f., 33, 127
Madeley Mission, 51
Magee, Rev. C. A. V., 38, 62
Magistrates, appointment of, 225
Manchester Church House, 216
Manchester election, 196
Mansfield College, 30 f., 166
Mansfield House, 91, 154
Manual of Church Fellowship, 78
Marks, Sir G. Croydon, 226
Marriage, 76

Marshall, Dr. Newton, 204
Martineau, Dr., 107
Martyrs' tercentenary, 78
Massie, Dr., 33
McClure, Sir J. D., 98
McCunn, Hamish, 291
McKenna, Mr., 198
Mearns, Rev. A., 39, 108
Mediterranean tour, 100
Member of Parliament, 211
Men's Club opening, 189
Meredith, George, 263
Merthyr Tydvil, 211
Metropolitan Tabernacle, 193
Militarism, 103
Milton Club, 36, 61
Milton, John, 279
Mission at Kensington, 96
Model Citizen, The, 181
Modern Heretic, A, 83

310

INDEX

Moreton-in-the-Marsh, 257
Morgan, Dr. Campbell, 221
Morley, Lord, 52, 105
Morningside Church, 116
Murray, Professor Gilbert, 63
Myers, F., 296

Nelson, Earl, 125
New Theology, 208 f .
Newcastle election, 197
Newport, Salop, 3, 4
Newth, Rev. Dr., 138
Niagara, 291
Nichol, Professor, 22
Nicholson, Sir Arthur, 249
Nicoll, Sir W. Robertson, 127
Nonconformist Conscience, 115
Nonconformity in the Nineteenth

Century, 193
Norfolk tour, 250
Norman, Sir H., 131
Norway, visit to, 94, 141, 157
Netting Dale Mission, 84
Novel writing, 270

Olaf Street Mission, 69
Ordeal of Faith, 262
Ordination service, 68
Outwoods, the, 6, 254
Oxford Music Hall Mission, 221

Palmer, Dr. Ray, 110, 162
Pancras, St., election, 183, 197
Paris, visit to, 100, 209, 217
Parker, Dr., 59
Parliament, 206 f.
Parliament Bill, 216
Parmoor, Lord, 244
Parsons, Rev. James, 152
Passing of the Third Floor Back,

The, 272

Passive resistance, 131
Penry, 79, 153
Peploe, Rev. Webb, 130
Percival, Bishop, 203
Philpotts, Mr. Eden, 101
Picton, Mr. A., 219
Pierce, Rev. W., 78, 103, 124, 153
Pilkington, Mr. W. W., 188
Plunket, Lord, 229
Pope, visit to the, 125, 169
Preaching method in, 261
Predestination, 283
Primitive Methodists, 193
Protestant succession, 224
Protestantism, 241 f.

Public speaking, 87
Pulpit, Platform, and Parlia-
ment, 175, 217
Pusey, Dr., 229
Pye-Smith, Mr. Arnold, 147

Queen Street, Wolverhampton,

107, 166
Queen Victoria, 102

Raleigh, Mrs. A., 140

Raleigh, Sir T., 140

Ranjitsinji, 109

Reading, Lord, 245

Referendum, 296

Religious teaching, 226

Religious Tract Society, 97

Reunion, 125

Revelation, Doctrine of, 147

Reynolds, Dr., 55

Rhodes, Cecil, 105, 114, 161

Richard, Mr. H., 219

Rickett, Sir J. Compton-, 127 f.,

199

Riley, Mr. Athelstan, 87, 125, 153
Roberts, Lord, 115
Roman Catholics, 223
Romance of Preaching, The, 262,

300

Rome, visit to, 169 f.
Rosebery, Lord, 95, 127 f.
Rouen, visit to, 209
Rowland, Rev. A., 146
Runciman, Mr. W., 199
Ruskin, letter to, 28
Russell, Sir Charles, 52
Rylands Library, 111, 279
Rylands, Mrs., 91, 99, 111, 141,

154, 177

Salford Mission, 190
Salter, Mr. Gurney, 99
Sanday, Rev. Dr., 41
Sargeant, Mr. A., 249 f.
School Board Election, 87
Scotland, visit to, 188
Secretaryship of C.U., 132
Shaftesbury, Earl of, 226
Shakespeare, Dr. J. H., 128f.,

199

Shaw, Mr. Bernard, 192
Sheringham, 94, 163, 176, 252
Sherman, Rev. J., 148
Shropshire tour, 246
Silvester, Chas., 5, 6
Simpson, Mr., 157

INDEX

811

Sistine Chapel, Rome, 170
Smith, Mr. W. H., 226
South African Committee, 105
Spicer, Mr. E., 65, 114
Spicer, Sir Evan, 147
Spring Hill College, 30
Spurgeon, Mr., 145
Stanley, Dean, 152
Stanley, Monsignor, 169
Stepney Meeting House, 57
Stony Stratford, 195
Stoughton, Dr., 69, 151
Stretton Church, 186, 266, 293
Stuart, Professor, 62
Sub Rosa, 148
Sussex, tour in, 258
Suttle, Rev. G., 133 f.
Switzerland, 99
Byrnes, Rev. Colmer, 43
Sydney Morning Herald, 139

Taylor Smith, Bishop, 203
Temple, Archbishop, 124
Tennyson, death of, 150
Thompson, Rev. Wardlaw, 63
Toms, Mr. C. W., 256
Toplady Hall, 179
Toronto, 301

Tottenham Court Road, 179 f.
Tracts for the Times, 97
Tribe, Mr. F., 249 f.
Turquand, Rev. P., 124
Twentieth Century Fund, 108

Union Church, Brighton, 156
Union, Glasgow, 20, 26
Union, Oxford, 35

Ulster Protestantism, 238 f.

Vandyke Exhibition, 113
Vatican and Ireland, 240
Venice, 269

Victoria, Queen, 102, 122
Vital Virtues, The, 86

Wales, South, visit to, 188
Walker, Thos., 43, 72, 105, 163
Wallace, Sir R., 176, 261
Walsh, Archbishop, 243
Ward, Mrs. Humphrey, 264
Washington, visit to, 285
Watson, Wm., 150
Welldon, Bishop, 203
Welsh Disestablishment, 227 f.
Westminster Chapel, 151
Wharton, Lord, 113
White, Rev. E., 47, 55
White, Sir George, 199
Whitefields Chapel, 133 f.
Whitefields, work at, 174 f.
Will, Freedom of the, 283
Willans, Mr. G., 67
Willis, Judge, 252
Windle, President, 203
Winona Conference, 291
Winterbotham, Mr. W., 47, 169
Wiveliscombe, 254
Wolfendale, Rev. T. A., 33, 38, 51
Wolverton, 195
Woodhead, Sir G., 120
Woodstock, visit to, 39

Yale Lectures, 262, 300
Young men, letter to, 80

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